Lakers beat Rockets in Game 4, one win away from Western finals – Manila Bulletin

ORLANDO – Anthony Davis scored 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Houston Rockets 110-100 to take a 3-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference semifinal series on Thursday.

The Rockets were not up to the intensity and skill of the Lakers, as Los Angeles edged them 62-24 in the paint and 19-2 in fast break points in the quarantine bubble at the Disney resort in Orlando, Florida. .

“We play defense. We did a good job defending all three, ”Davis said. “For the most part, we executed our game plan.”

LeBron James took the night off offensively finishing with just 16 points, but grabbed 14 defensive rebounds and had nine assists for the Lakers, who are trying to reach their first Western Conference final since the 2009-10 season when they were led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

James Harden had an uninspiring performance with 21 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 25 for the Rockets in loss. Harden hit two of 11 from beyond the arc and committed three fouls.

Los Angeles dominated in almost every aspect of offense and defense and appears poised to advance to the NBA Finals four if they can win in Game 5 on Saturday.

“Elimination games are always the hardest. We have to come out with a killer mentality, ”Davis said.

The Lakers capped their victory in style when James hit a Showtime dunk and point guard Alex Caruso nailed a three-point dagger into his last two possessions of the contest.

Rajon Rondo and James combined on the dunk with Rondo driving to the basket, then bouncing the ball off the backboard towards a soaring James for the roaring slam.

After winning the first game of the series 112-97, Houston has now lost three in a row, the last two by 10 points.

Houston worked their way into Game 7 against Oklahoma City to win by just two points, but they’ve only shown small bursts of that fight this series.

They outscored the Lakers 18-2 at one stage of the fourth but still lost by double digits.

The Lakers defense has taken the three-point game away from the Rockets and on offense they blew up Houston’s porous defense.

Harden looked especially disinterested on defense, watching his teammates fight for fumbles around the rim and take a step back instead of challenging when James drove to the basket for an easy layup.