For every win this team gets, they always seem to make fans pull our hair out. Welcome to the life of the Los Angeles Lakers fan.

The Purple & Gold faced off against the Houston Rockets, who came in with a 17-48 record. They faced off for the fourth time this year, with the Lakers winning the first three matchups.

It was quite a competitive game between these two teams. But, the young legs of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun exposed the veteran slowness of this Lakers squad on their way to a 139-130 win.

Green played 38 minutes, scoring 32 points while drilling four shots from downtown. Sengun finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Let’s not forget about Josh Christopher, who was another rookie that performed well for the Rockets.

As for the Lakers, Russell Westbrook had arguably his best performance in some time. He finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. LeBron James played 45 minutes himself, contributing 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists: a triple-double.

Los Angeles continues their road losing streak, and falls to 28-37.

My Thoughts

There’s something that needs to be said. There’s the concept of rock bottom, and then there’s this team.

You have to scratch your head if you’re a Lakers fan. It’s not because the Lakers lost, but how they lost.

For one, the game was tied with about 20 seconds left in the game. Los Angeles had possession and had a chance to win. LeBron had the ball and drove to the basket for a game-winning lay…

I wish we could see into what LeBron was thinking. Nine times out of 10 he attempts and makes that layup. If the game’s on the line, there’s no one I’d trust on that Lakers squad than him.

Overtime came, and Houston went on a 10-0 run that sealed the deal.

It’s frustrating to see this team collapse. Westbrook silenced the critics and performed well against this Rockets squad. Guys like Malik Monk and Austin Reaves contributed well to the box score. Even D.J Augustin had his best game with the team.

But, all of this doesn’t matter if the team loses. You don’t allow 139 points to a team without their star players. That’s the Lakers though, causing many fans to stress for 48 minutes or more to see their team lose.

Jalen Green is a special player, and it will be exciting to see how much he’ll grow in the future.

Tonight, this game was mostly on LeBron failing to do what he’s done for years. You complain about not being regarded as one of the best scorers of all time. But, you can’t attempt a simple layup.

Stop complaining. Do better. After all, they call you the King, right?

For more on the NBA, check out Belly Up Sports and follow Nathan on Twitter.

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Nathan Nguyen

Nathan Nguyen is the NFL/New York Giants beat writer for Belly Up Sports.

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