With his Los Angeles Lakers playing on the second night of a back-to-back and their No. 1 seed in the Western Conference secure, LeBron James sat with a sore groin against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, and the result laid bare just how much weight the four-time MVP carries for another championship favorite.
The Rockets, also without former MVP Russell Westbrook (thigh contusion), spanked the Lakers, 113-97. Houston’s other MVP, James Harden, amassed 39 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in 36 minutes, putting anyone who dared defend him in a blender sharpened with footwork and shotmaking.