On April 12th, Beijing time, the 2024 - 25 NBA regular - season continued. The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Houston Rockets at home. After the whole game, the Lakers defeated the depleted Rockets 140 - 109, thus locking in the third position in the Western Conference.
Full - game data: The specific scores of each quarter were 32 - 38, 24 - 40, 31 - 29, 22 - 33 (the Lakers' scores are in the latter). For the Lakers, Luka Doncic's total number of three - pointers made in his Lakers career exceeded 100. He achieved this in just 28 games, setting a new franchise - fastest record. He scored 39 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 7 assists in the whole game. In addition, Austin Reaves had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals; Finney - Smith scored 18 points and had 3 steals; Rui Hachimura had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist; LeBron James had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists; Jarred Vanderbilt had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals; and Jaxson Hayes had 7 points and 1 rebound.
For the Rockets, Cam Whitmore scored 34 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 1 assist; Reed Sheppard had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; Nate Williams had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist; Jrue Holiday had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists; Jalen Green had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; and Jeff Green had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.
Game review: At the start of the first quarter, the Rockets took the lead. Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore made consecutive three - pointers. For the Lakers, LeBron James stepped up first. He completed an alley - oop dunk after a wonderful pass from Luka Doncic, made a three - pointer, and assisted Jaxson Hayes for an alley - oop, leading the Lakers' first three offensive plays. Then, the two teams were in a stalemate for a while. But in the latter part of this quarter, Luka Doncic assisted Finney - Smith to make a three - pointer, and he also scored easily through driving and shooting, reaching over 15 points personally. In the final seconds of this quarter, LeBron James made an elegant back - pass to assist Austin Reaves to make a bank shot three - pointer. After the first quarter, the Lakers led 38 - 32 temporarily.
In the second quarter, Jarred Vanderbilt and LeBron James made consecutive basket attacks, widening the point difference to double - digits. Then, Austin Reaves and Goodwin made three - pointers, and the Lakers continued to expand their lead. In the latter part of this quarter, Luka Doncic made another three - pointer, with his total number of three - pointers made in his Lakers career exceeding 100. He achieved this in just 28 games, the fastest in Lakers franchise history. In the final part of this quarter, Luka Doncic's drives and fade - away jumpers were unstoppable, and his personal score successfully exceeded 20. Rui Hachimura also made a three - pointer at the buzzer. At halftime, the Lakers led 78 - 56.
After the intermission, it was Luka Doncic's fade - away jumper that opened the scoring for the Lakers. For the Rockets, Cam Whitmore's turnaround jump shot was successful, and Reed Sheppard and Jock Landale made three - pointers. The visiting team still didn't give up the hope of catching up. Next, the Rockets had many scoring opportunities on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, they couldn't limit Luka Doncic. In the last 2 minutes of the third quarter, Luka Doncic assisted Finney - Smith to make a three - pointer again. After that, his step - back three - pointer, fade - away jump shot and free throws were all made, and he had already scored 39 points. After the third quarter, the Lakers led 107 - 87.
In the fourth quarter, LeBron James didn't play due to a slight injury in the third quarter, and Luka Doncic also ended his game early. Austin Reaves led the team to clean up the situation and maintained a 20 - point difference. The game gradually entered garbage time in the latter part of this quarter. Finally, after the whole game, the Lakers defeated the depleted Rockets 140 - 109, thus locking in the third position in the Western Conference.
Starting line - ups of both teams: Rockets: Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, Jalen Green, Jeff Green, Reed Sheppard. Lakers: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Luka Doncic, Jaxson Hayes, Austin Reaves.