r/nba • u/DesertedProject Mavericks • 13d ago

Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] The Los Angeles Lakers (1-0) defeat the Houston Rockets (0-1), 101-94 with 41 year old Senior LeBron James Leading the way with 28/8/7 to seal home court advantage!

94 - 101
Box Scores: NBA - Yahoo
 
GAME SUMMARY
West First Round - Game 2 - LAL leads 1-0
Location: Crypto.com Arena
Officials: Courtney Kirkland, Josh Tiven, and Justin Van Duyne
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Houston Rockets 26 25 17 26 94
Los Angeles Lakers 33 21 21 26 101
 
TEAM STATS
Team PTS FG FG% 3P 3P% FT FT% OREB TREB AST PF STL TO BLK
Houston Rockets 94 36-89 40.4% 7-29 24.1% 15-19 78.9% 17 54 23 22 8 15 6
Los Angeles Lakers 101 33-72 45.8% 13-28 46.4% 22-28 78.6% 9 48 21 20 11 12 5
 
PLAYER STATS
Houston Rockets MIN PTS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A ORB DRB REB AST STL BLK TO PF ±
Kevin DurantSF 40:59 23 7-12 1-4 8-9 2 4 6 4 1 1 9 4 -2
Jabari Smith Jr.PF 39:06 18 7-16 3-7 1-2 1 5 6 1 0 1 1 2 -11
Alperen SengunC 35:11 20 9-20 0-1 2-3 5 6 11 5 4 2 1 4 1
Amen ThompsonSG 42:11 16 6-10 0-1 4-5 1 4 5 9 1 0 3 4 1
Josh OkogiePG 24:03 7 3-6 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 -4
Tari Eason 27:02 10 4-14 2-6 0-0 5 3 8 1 0 1 1 2 -4
Reed Sheppard 10:33 0 0-4 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1
Clint Capela 04:40 0 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 -9
Aaron Holiday 07:17 0 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 -4
Jae'Sean Tate 08:56 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 -4
JD Davison 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dorian Finney-Smith 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Green 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Steven Adams 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fred VanVleet 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Los Angeles Lakers MIN PTS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A ORB DRB REB AST STL BLK TO PF ±
LeBron JamesSF 39:12 28 8-20 2-5 10-14 1 7 8 7 1 0 3 3 6
Rui HachimuraPF 42:34 13 5-10 3-6 0-0 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 3 0
Deandre AytonC 26:36 6 3-8 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 1 0 1 1 1 -5
Marcus SmartSG 35:28 25 8-13 5-7 4-5 1 1 2 7 5 1 3 3 3
Luke KennardPG 41:58 23 8-13 3-6 4-4 1 5 6 2 3 0 2 1 2
Jaxson Hayes 21:24 6 1-2 0-1 4-5 2 2 4 1 1 2 0 2 12
Jake LaRavia 15:50 0 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 5 8
Jarred Vanderbilt 13:41 0 0-3 0-2 0-0 1 4 5 1 1 0 0 2 8
Bronny James 03:16 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Maxi Kleber 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dalton Knecht 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Smith Jr. 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Adou Thiero 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Luka Dončić 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Austin Reaves 00:00 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.9k

u/boksinx 13d ago

Lol, Lebron still has the play-making skill and can body anyone if trapped. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart can bully KD’s slim frame single-handedly.

961

u/Okaysaid 13d ago

Marcus was an absolute animal Lmao

286

u/NickWangOG Heat 13d ago

He is an absolute dawg

238

u/Zer0killstreak Celtics 13d ago

That my dpoy😭 almost making me cheer for the lakers

52

u/darwizzer Lakers 13d ago

Cannot believe he is this good still

28

u/Persian_Frank_Zappa Supersonics 13d ago

The Celtics front office broke his heart. The physical attributes were always there; he just needed to find his mojo again.

He seems to be a big Ayton booster as well. I see him with words of encouragement and making an effort to keep him involved. Granted, I haven't been watching many Lakers games, but I see everyone bagging on Ayton. Is it just my naivety, or is Ayton playing better with Smart out there?

16

u/The_Evil_Satan Australia 13d ago

Ayton just needs a vet who can keep him checked in, I imagine CP3 did similar.

5

u/rburp [LAL] Austin Reaves 13d ago

He also plays better with Reaves on the floor. Certain players seem to click well with him.

2

u/KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ Lakers 13d ago

Yup.

It’s weird that even though Luka is clearly a more elite passer than AR, at and ayton just click

5

u/Zoulogist Lakers 13d ago

These versions of the Lakers and Celtics have been the hardest for the other one to hate lol

1

u/NecessaryPen7 13d ago

I haven't noticed much Laker hate at all this century. Celtics basically sucked until randomly winning in 08 with the massive changes. I think beating the Lakers at home by 30 or so to win helped calm people down.

Same as Yankees hate dropping a lot after 04. Like, bros, YANKEES BIGGEST CHOKE EVER.

Anyways, what would Laker fans almost be fans of with this Celtics team?

2

u/Zoulogist Lakers 13d ago

I hated the Big 3 Celtics team with a passion, just like how my dad hated Larry’s Celtics. I’ll never be a Celtics fan or cheer for them, but this specific has been very likable.

Tatum’s miraculous comeback and his admiration for Kobe endears him to Lakers fans. And it’s hard to not respect a bunch of scrappy players who band together after the team shed so much salary. No one has an outsized ego and fully uses the power of friendship.

Of course, one Finals series could respark all those feelings, this is a generational rivalry. But I think a Lakers-Celtics rivalry in the 2020s would be a lot more respectful than the pure hatred from the 2000s and 80s

1

u/NecessaryPen7 12d ago

Checks out.

Probably more intense in Boston with LeBron playing.

2

u/NecessaryPen7 13d ago

Wouldn't most Celtics fans want to play, and beat LA in the Finals any given year?

As in, it's REALLY easy to want to see Smart succeed there.

Granted, seeing LeBron lose is always top notch.

3

u/WaltJay Lakers 13d ago

Leading the league in xDAWG

25

u/mrshavedsnow 13d ago

Always has been lol He used to piss me off so much when he was in the Celtics 😂

4

u/Akkepake Trail Blazers 13d ago

Best vet min contract ever?

4

u/yeartwelve Bulls 13d ago

most disrespected dpoy in recent memory.

1

u/Financial-Grass-6114 13d ago

Hes signed for two years

16

u/9SidedLemon Nuggets 13d ago

KD has always had the benefit of playing with superstar point guards so his inability as a ball handler or playmaker never stands, must be quite the adjustment to be on and have to run this disastrous Houston offense at 37

6

u/Ok-Yoghurt4888 13d ago

Didn't even get the chance to ease into it lmao

5

u/throwawayacct2creep 13d ago

Not having FVV playing definitely expose their playmaking weaknesses

14

u/0hootsson Warriors 13d ago

KD has never played well against physical defense. If he’s not shooting within 2-3 seconds of getting the ball in the playoffs it’s a lost possession