Welcome in to the recap of Game 4. The Lakers and Rockets went back and forth throughout the whole. But in the end, LeBron James won't be denied and the Lakers stepped their game up in the 4th. Lakers take a 2-1 series lead in these West semis behind vintage performances LeBron and Playoff Rondo.
Another tough, gritty win against these pesky Rockets. This game has been tight throughout. Houston played keepaway with the close lead and responded quickly when the Lakers rallied to take a couple of leads prior to the 4th. But the 4th quarter, a whole different story as the Lakers took control throughout.
As I mentioned, behind LeBron's 30+ point performance, Lakers kept themselves within striking distance. Anthony Davis was quiet in the first half, yet came alive in the 3rd quarter. The supporting cast was a no show until late in the 3rd quarter. It started with a pressure three from Rondo as the shot clock expired to give the Lakers an 80-77 lead. That was like a shot in the arm to get him going. Kyle Kuzma, same thing. Got a few good looks to the basket and then he was more active in the 4th to close this out.
Perhaps the small game changer was the adjustment that Frank Vogel made. He sat out Javale McGee in the 2nd half to put Markieff Morris at Center. We can see in this series, this matchup is unfavorable for McGee and Dwight Howard because of Houston's ability to space the floor. With the change, the Lakers were able to double more on James Harden and contain the perimeter. Although the only negative was the points in the paint. The Rockets took advantage of that this whole game. Even with the lineup change, they still found a way to penetrate to the basket. Other than that, the defense got better with the smaller lineup in the 2nd half.
Final stat lines: LeBron poured in 36 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. This is a stat line Miami Heat 'Bron would put up from 2010-2014. He was a man on a mission tonight on both ends of the floor and unquestionably the MVP of this game. Rajon Rondo gets runner-up with 21 points and 9 assists. "Playoff Rondo" showed up in the 4th and jumpstarted the bench production for the Lakers. AD notched 26 points and 15 rebounds. As mentioned, he stood out more in the 2nd half. Kyle Kuzma also stood out in the 2nd half with 14 points. I liked how active Kuz was on the offense, making the necessary cuts and crashing the boards.
If there's any themes of this series is that the 4th quarter will be a key factor. It's a matter of which team can be effective in crunch time. So far, the Lakers have controlled the 4th quarter in Games 2 & 3 since the ugly loss in Game 1. This Rockets team won't be easy to take down as long as they're getting to the line and shooting timely threes. But, the Lakers have made the adjustments since Game 1. They are forcing the Rockets to play at an unfavorable pace. Up 2-1, we know what happened in Portland in Game 4 in the last round. Lakers will look to replicate that and start fast to take a commanding 3-1 lead. I'll see you guys on Thursday for that game.
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