LOS Angeles Lakers (LAL) survived a furious run by the Houston Rockets to take a 110-100 win in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals on Thursday night (Friday in Manila).
Alex Caruso drained a game-sealing three-pointer with under a minute left in the match before completing a defensive stop on the other end as the Lakers cruised to a 3-1 lead.
Caruso finished with career-high tying 16 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two blocks as the Lakers moved a win closer from reaching the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2010.
Anthony Davis tallied double-double 29 points and 12 rebounds, LeBron James had 16 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists while Rajon Rondo had 11 points, 10 assists and eight boards for LAL.
Holding to a slim 26-22 lead after the opening period, the Lakers got a huge second quarter from Davis, Danny Green and Taron Horton-Tucker to take a 57-41 halftime edge.
The lead swelled further for the Lakers in the second half as it reached its largest at 99-76 on a basket by Davis, but the Rockets countered with a 17-2 blast to come to within 100-105.
Russel Westbrook top-scored with 25 points, James Harden had double-double 21 points and 10 assists while Eric Gordon added 19 markers for the Rockets.
BOX SCORES:
LOS ANGELES 110 – Davis 29, James 16, Caruso 16, Rondo 11, Green 10, Caldwell-Pope 10, Morris 9, Horton-Tucker 5, Kuzma 4.
HOUSTON 100 – Westbrook 25, Harden 21, Gordon 19, Rivers 14, McLemore 9, Green 9, Covington 3, Tucker 0.
Quarterscores:
Q1, 26-22; Q2, 57-41; Q3, 86-70; Q4, 110-100.
The NBA holds all matches of its 2019-2020 playoffs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States./PN
