Facing a 19-point deficit midway through the third quarter, the Lakers didn’t fold. They got defensive.
In what ended up being one of their biggest wins of the season, the purple and gold outscored the high-octane Houston Rockets by 24 the rest of the way, gaining key ground in the Western Conference playoff standings.
The day was won with disciplined defense, as the Lakers hamstrung the team with the NBA’s second-best offensive rating.
“I love that it looked like we got our defensive mojo, our defensive confidence, back as that game went along,” coach Luke Walton said.