The Houston Rockets take down the Los Angeles Lakers in Hollywood fashion, with multiple players stuffing the stats sheet.
From the initial tipoff, the young Houston Rockets squad seemed to have a fire lit under their belly. The game had back-and-forth moments in the first quarter, with D'Angelo Russell hitting a big 3-pointer to give LA a 25-24 lead, but this was short-lived. Cam Whitmore caught on fire and scored 12 points in the last two minutes of the quarter.
Whitmore finished with 20 points and six rebounds in only 18 minutes. Other notable players on the box score for the Rockets were Fred VanVleet, who had 3 points and 14 assists, and Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, who became the first duo under 22 to both have 30 points and 10 boards.
Despite all these incredible feats, the story of the night was yet another blip in the Dillon Brooks versus Lebron James saga. In the second quarter, Jarred Vanderbilt was ejected for shoving and flicking Dillon Brooks after a number of physical plays between the two. Later in the game, while jumping for a loose rebound, Brooks’ arm swatted across his body, colliding with the jaw of Lebron James.
Overall, the win was a critical one, coming against another playoff-hopeful team, and the Houston Rockets moved up to 22-24. They will face off against the Pelicans on January 31st.