Houston: Rookie Kyle Kuzma scored 38 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Houston Rockets’ 14-game winning streak with a 122-116 upset victory Wednesday night.
Houston had their streak ended despite James Harden pouring in 51 points and adding nine assists. The Rockets also lost for the first time with guard Chris Paul in their line-up.
Paul departed early in the fourth quarter with a sore left leg and did not return after posting eight points, five assists and five rebounds over 25 minutes.
Los Angeles snapped three-game skid by torching Houston’s defence, with Kuzma scoring 24 of his 38 points in the first half on 9-for-9 shooting. The Lakers, playing without starters Brook Lopez (ankle) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal reasons), had six double-digit scorers, with reserve forward Corey Brewer tallying a season-high 21 points.
Golden State limited Memphis to 10 field goals in the second half, allowing the defending NBA champs to gradually pull away for a hard-earned victory, their 10th win in a row.
Klay Thompson had a game-high 29 points and Kevin Durant added 22 for the Warriors, but the duo combined for just nine points in the second half, when Golden State’s defence dominated the game.
Memphis lost for the 16th time in 18 games. Marc Gasol overcame 5-for-15 shooting to score a team-high 21 points for the Grizzlies.
