Kyle Kuzma Helps Lakers Hold Off Rockets Without LeBron, AD 124-122 | Lakers Banner Night

Kyle Kuzma Helps Lakers Hold Off Rockets Without LeBron James, Anthony Davis Turns out, the Los Angeles Lakers don't need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to beat the NBA's worst team. They just needed Kyle Kuzma to play the role of hero with a game-winning layup with 6.9 seconds remaining. The Purple and Gold extended their winning streak to three with a 124-122 victory over the Houston Rockets in Wednesday's Western Conference showdown at Staples Center. Talen Horton-Tucker, Andre Drummond and Kuzma led the way for the shorthanded Lakers, who improved to 40-30 overall as they fight to avoid the play-in tournament. Notable Player Stats Talen Horton-Tucker, G, LAL: 23 PTS, 10 AST, 2 STL Kyle Kuzma, F, LAL: 19 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST Andre Drummond, C, LAL: 20 PTS, 10 REB Balanced Attack Helps Lakers Hold Off Houston's Charge Injuries are never ideal, but the timing for the Lakers could not have been much worse. They entered play one game behind the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers in the race to avoid the Western Conference play-in tournament. Not only were they without James and Davis as they attempted to make up that ground, Dennis Schroder and Alex Caruso were also sidelined. Fortunately for the defending champions, converting on the offensive end wasn't a problem against Houston's 27th-ranked defense. Horton-Tucker, fresh off his game-winning shot against the New York Knicks, picked up where he left off and spearheaded the early effort by attacking the basket, throwing down a dunk and facilitating when defenders collapsed. Drummond dominated the paint in the third quarter, and the combination of Kuzma, Markieff Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope provided secondary scoring. Still, the Lakers failed to create any meaningful separation because of their defensive woes with the Rockets pouring in 43 points in the third quarter alone. Frankly, Los Angeles needed a spark alongside Horton-Tucker if it was going to hold off the undermanned Rockets, and Montrezl Harrell and Kuzma provided just that. The pair scored 15 straight points for the home team in the fourth quarter, the last two of which ended Houston's 9-0 run and gave the Lakers the lead back for good. The defensive effort was ugly at times, but seven players in double figures was just what the Purple and Gold needed without their two stars. So Z Nation, what did you think about the Lakers win against the Houston Rockets??? Thank you all for watching ZSPN on YouTube http://youtube.com/c/ZSPNSports Check out my podcast, ZSPN , on Anchor! https://anchor.fm/zspn Check out my podcast, ZSPN , on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/7hRfH2WzMhoKzgFyftUz1l Like my page on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ZSPNSports/ Follow me on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/zspn_sports Follow me on Instagram: ZSPN_Sports Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3I60o3Wt-X421fEiJSjziA/join 💜GO LAKERS💛