The Los Angeles Lakers have collected one more loss this season when they took on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. The Rockets were not messing around at Toyota Center, handing a 39-point loss to the Lakers 139-100.
The L.A. team now has lost three games in a row, and were blown out in two straight games -- they have fallen to the Denver Nuggets on Monday, losing by a 28-point margin. With two wins and one loss on the season against the Lakers, Houston has clinched the season-series between the two sides.
Julius Randle shined in the loss
Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle had a big game against the Houston Rockets.
Randle scored a career-high 32 points on 13-17 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds as well in the game. However, tough to say how happy will the 22-year-old be knowing that his team got embarassed on Wednesday.
Second overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft, Brandon Ingram, had a good game as well for the Lakers. The 19-year-old rookie had 18 points along with six rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes of action. He has been playing good recently since he has been promoted to the starting lineup, averaging 14.2 points per game in the last five games, reveals ESPN.
D'Angelo Russell again not a starter
Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton decided to give starting point guard duties to Jordan Clarkson in the second straight game.
The decision meant that D'Angelo Russell, who has been starting regularly for L.A. this season, will again see some minutes off the bench.
It didn't go well for Russell, who finished the game with five points on 2-10 shooting from the field and had two assists and rebounds in 25 minutes. Clarkson though had a solid game as he scored 18 points on 7-19 shooting from the field to go along with three assists.
Where do the Lakers stand now?
The Los Angeles Lakers now hold a record of 20 wins and 48 losses on the season. No team in the Western Conference is worse than the Lakers, and only the Brooklyn Nets (12-54) have a more negative record than L.A. With their latest loss, the Lakers have improved their chances of keeping its top-3 pick in this year's NBA draft.
What's next for the LakeShow?
The Los Angeles Lakers will now head home, and they will be meeting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday at Staples Center. The two teams have met once this season -- back in this year's February -- when the Lakers beat the Bucks in Wisconsin. The match on Friday will be the last of this year's season between those two teams, and L.A. needs to win in order to clinch the season-series over Milwaukee.
