Lakers: A Herculean Effort From Starting Center LeBron James Staves Off Rockets

King James logged his 102nd triple-double to boot.

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James turned in a stupendous performance to help LA hang on against a feisty young Houston Rockets club at Toyota Center in Houston. LA won its first game under acting head coach David Fizdale in six tries, besting Houston 132-123 to end a five-game losing streak. 

Just two days shy of his 37th birthday, and in his 19th NBA season, James notched his third triple-double of the season, and 102nd overall (5th-best in NBA history): he poured in 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting (including 3-of-5 from three-point land and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe), grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists. James polished off his masterful performance with two blocks and a steal. James also surpassed the 36K points mark, making him just the third player in NBA history to do so, behind former Lakers Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone (though the Mailman scored most of his points with the Utah Jazz).

After a relatively even first half, the Lakers closed out the second quarter on a 12-5 run, spurred by buckets from James, new starting small forward Malik Monk, and Carmelo Anthony, facilitated by dishes from James and Russell Westbrook. Thanks to this run, the Lakers led the Rockets at the break by 67-59.

That advantage at the end of the half proved critical, Houston outscored LA 33-30 in the third quarter, and the Rockets then came roaring back thanks to a 19-12 run to tie the game at 111-111 in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Houston comeback was powered mostly by some slick jump-shooting from 2021 No. 2 draft pick Jalen Green, who made three triples and notched a three-point play on a driving layup in that window. Green would go on to finish the night with a Rockets-leading 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, along with four assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Fizdale would ride a closing lineup of Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Monk, James, and Carmelo Anthony (plus some Anthony/Stanley Johnson hockey substitutions during stoppages) to wrap up the game on a 21-12 scoring advantage. James, Westbrook and Anthony accounted for most of the offense in this span.

The final death knell for the Rockets came on back-to-back Russ-to-LeBron feeds off cuts. The first of these reminded all of us (as if we needed reminding) that, miraculously, LeBron James remains a behemoth in the paint:

LEBRON JAMES ‼️ pic.twitter.com/BWk3zxPbmb

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2021

James was not alone in his scoring binge. The Lakers shot 52.2% from the field (48-of-92) and 41.2% (14-of-34) from deep. Monk scored 25 points, Westbrook had a triple double of his own (24 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists... and seven turnovers, but we don't need to talk about that), Anthony chipped in another 24 points. 

David Fizdale went all-in on small ball-oriented rotations. 6'6" LA native Stanley Johnson, in just his second game on a 10-day contract inked using a hardship exception, earned the starting power forward nod and chipped in nine points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and five hard fouls.

Craziest of all? James finally jumped at center. During the 2019-20 season, he was a point guard. The 6'9", 250+ pound vet once again proved he can do anything and everything for a Lakers club that desperately needs him. Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan played a combined zero seconds tonight as healthy scratches. While Howard can still contribute valuable spot minutes inside the paint, it appears he may be slipping out of Fizdale's preferred lineups. The Lakers' other 10-day signing who earned some run was veteran point guard Darren Collison, who continued to look trepidatious on offense, taking just two shots and nailing one in his second game for Los Angeles.

It sure seems like LA has found a keeper in 10-day hardship exception signing Stanley Johnson. To make room for Johnson long-term, the Lakers will need to waive a contract. Jordan and Kent Bazemore appear to be the most expendable players among the guaranteed deals.

The Lakers' slump is officially over, and the team may have unlocked some fun new looks with a new role for James and increased responsibilities for Johnson and Monk. But LA will have little time to celebrate the victory (which bumped the team up to just one game under .500, 17-18). The team will face a confident Memphis Grizzlies club back home at the Crypto.com Arena tomorrow night.