The Rockets held the Lakers to under 100 points despite an ugly beginning and routed L.A. in the first game of a Staples Center back-to-back.
A red-hot James Harden scored 31 points on 10-17 shooting in just 27 minutes, while Dwight Howard had 14 points and 15 rebounds for his 9th straight double-double to lead the Rockets over the L.A. Lakers 112-95.
Despite the final result, the game didn't start out well, when the Rockets came out two steps slow on defense, giving up a season-high 36 points in the first period on 73.