EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 117-100, in Houston. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game:
1. This defense thing is really becoming an issue for Lakers opponents.
The Lakers held Houston to only 14 points in the first quarter on the way to a 30-point lead and sixth consecutive road victory.
They were bitter after a near-loss to Chicago last Friday at Staples Center and pledged to do better defensively. Former NBA MVP James Harden would be the first to say they accomplished their mission.
The Lakers forced the Rockets guard into seven turnovers Sunday and held him to 5-for-16 shooting in Tuesday’s rematch.
Rockets guard John Wall was actually worse, averaging 12 points while shooting 36% in the back-to-back losses.
The Lakers came into the game with the league’s second-best defensive rating. At this rate, they’ll be No. 1 soon enough.
2. The Lakers were a weird team last week.
They fell behind by double digits in two road games against a severely depleted Memphis team and then did it again in San Antonio.
They were able to rally twice against Memphis but lost to the Spurs. Then came that near-loss to Chicago.
Consider this a better week for them.
They nixed their slow starts and replaced them with sound play from start to finish.
A 21-point lead in the first quarter Tuesday? Check. A 19-point lead at halftime Sunday? Indeed.
They now have the league’s best record, sitting at 9-3 three weeks into the season.
3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had his best game this season, working for the Lakers on both ends of the court Tuesday.
He was sharp on offense, making 4 of 5 from three-point range while scoring 14 points in 20 minutes.
He also made a mark defensively by collecting 3 steals and finishing with a plus-19 in the plus-minus category.
Caldwell-Pope was a big piece of their championship pie last October but experienced a disjointed start last month by missing four games because of a sprained ankle.
He’s been smooth when he plays, especially from three-point range, and is shooting 53.6% behind the arc.