Due to the plethora of injuries the Lakers have faced this season, a reluctant Luke Walton decided to break up the bench unit once again, starting Marcelo Huertas, Jordan Clarkson, Luol Deng, Julius Randle, and Timofey Mozgov.
LA got off to a dismal start in the first quarter, looking very sloppy, ending the quarter with 9 turnovers! The turnovers only made things even easier for the offensive juggernaut that is James Harden and the Rockets who finished the first quarter up 43 to 27.
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Offense wasn’t the problem for Los Angeles. They were able to shoot over 50 percent in the first quarter but when you’re playing bad defense and giving up easy offense through turnovers, the Rockets can run up the score, and that’s just what they did.