LeBron James ignored? Refs miss timeout in Lakers’ 119-115 loss to Rockets
Jalen Green scored 33 points and Fred VanVleet caught a key steal late to allow Houston Rockets to hold on for a 119-115 victory Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Amen Thompson added 23 points and a game-high 16 rebounds in his return from a two-game suspension to help Houston pull out a win after leading by as many as 22.
Basket next to it LeBron James beat the Lakers 117-115 with eight seconds left. Alperen Sengun missed 1 of 2 free throws after that to give Los Angeles a chance to tie the game.
But VanVleet stole a pass intended for James as the Lakers star signaled a timeout.
James addressed the refs not acknowledging his timeout call after the game.
“Max definitely still had the ball in his hands, but it wasn’t awarded,” James told reporters. “It happens. We didn’t lose the game because of it.”
VanVleet made 1 of 2 free throws to secure the win.
Anthony Davis had 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers. James added 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Los Angeles used an 11-2 run, capped by six points from Davis, to pull within two with 4 minutes remaining. Thompson’s dunk started a 7-2 run that extended Houston’s lead to 115-108 with 2:30 left.
The Rockets stayed up by seven about a minute after that when Davis’ 3 cut the lead to 117-113 before James’ basket.
Takeaways
Lakers: Davis was dominant throughout this matchup, but James struggled to get going early and had just five points at halftime.
rockets: Thompson’s performance on Sunday was a good sign for Houston. The second-year player starts instead Jabari Smith Jr., who could be out for up to two months on Friday after breaking a bone in his hand.
A key moment
VanVleet’s steal that sealed the win.
Key statistics
The Rockets had 52 points compared to the Lakers’ 40.
Next
The Lakers visit Dallas on Tuesday night and the Rockets visit Washington that night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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LeBron James
Los Angeles Lakers
National Basketball Association
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2025-01-06 04:30:00
