Lakers frustrated at refs, resort to hands-free D

HOUSTON -- The Los Angeles Lakers found themselves so frustrated by the officiating in the second half of Thursday's 126-111 loss to the Houston Rockets that several players -- LeBron James and Lonzo Ball among them -- purposely held their hands behind their backs on several defensive possessions to make a point to the referees.

"Just trying to defend without fouling," James said, who briefly locked his hands behind his body on a Rockets possession in the third quarter. "That's a point of emphasis anytime you play Houston. They got guys that can sell calls really good -- Chris [Paul] and James [Harden] -- so you got to try to keep your hands out of the cookie jar."

The Rockets were called for…