On December 29, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, the Lakers challenged the Rockets away, the first quarter of the two teams played a big game, the Lakers 34-35 trailed by 1 point, as the starting center James cut 13 points in a single quarter.
Both teams have been in very bad shape lately, with the Lakers just losing five straight and dropping to No. 9 in the West and already falling out of the playoffs. The Rockets have lost four consecutive games before, with a record of 10 wins and 24 losses, ranking first from the bottom in the West, and the team's goal is to sign the lottery.
The Lakers' starting lineups are: Munch, Stanley Johnson, James, Bradley, Westbrook, james as the starting center. The Rockets' Porter Jr. and Green returned, and their starting starts were: Gordon, Nwaba, Wood, Porter, Green. As soon as the first quarter came up, Wood shot a three-pointer in the bottom corner, Westbrook broke through to score first for the Lakers, and both teams opened with good shooting rates, James felt good, Munch also hit three points, and Wood and Green arranged the rockets' first 14 points. Back from a timeout, James hit a three-pointer and then hit a 2+1 to give the Lakers a 20-18 comeback.
The Rockets' offense was in trouble, With Anthony shooting a three-pointer and the Lakers stopping the Rockets 23-18. Nuwaba's free throw broke the scoring drought, the two teams alternated points to rise, Christopher scored on a layup, chasing only 1 point to stop the Lakers. After this timeout, the two teams still cling to the score, and the Rockets led 35-34 in the first quarter.
James had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in the first quarter, and the firepower was all-in-one, Munch 7 points and Anthony 8 points. On the Rockets side, Wood had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Porter Jr. had 8 points and Brooks had 9 points.