The Houston Rockets avenged an opening day loss against the Los Angeles Lakers by completely dominating them on Wednesday night, 134-95. The Rockets had a comfortable 12 point lead, and really opened the floodgates in the second half outscoring the Lakers by 27 points. The Rockets continue to keep rolling with their 5th win in a row and moving their record to 15-7.

Game Summary

The Houston Rockets had complete control of this game from the start against a young Los Angeles Lakers team that saw a very flawed defense being exploited by a high scoring Rockets team. Highlights in the Rockets first unit were Patrick Beverley, who neared his first career triple-double, and James Harden, who continues to show up at the same high level that he has all season. Eric Gordon set a career high by recording 8 3-pointers in 24 minutes, and led the team in scoring with 26 points. Gordon’s “6th Man” role seems to be a good fit for this offense as his ability to score quickly is a vital part of the offense. Sam Dekker had another strong performance going for 12 points and 8 rebounds, as he continues to be a reliable part of the bench. The Rockets were not going to be slowed down in the second half as a strong offensive effort and a good defensive showing led them a 4th win in a row.

Star of the Game

Patrick Beverley- Patrick Beverley went full “Wolverine” against the Lakers as he saw them for the first time this season, and was 3 rebound short of his first career triple-double. Beverley’s final stat line sat at 10 points,12 assists,7 rebounds, and 4 steals as he was very involved in the team’s win and took full advantage of a bad Lakers defense. Beverley is quickly returning to top form and is exciting to watch become a key part of this explosive first unit.

What’s Next

The Houston Rockets travel to Oklahoma City to play on national television against the Thunder, who have an impressive win streak of their own at six games, and then the Rockets come back to Houston for a 4 game home stand.