Russell Westbrook scored 41 points and Robert Covington added 14 as the Houston Rockets' small-ball lineup proved effective again in a 121-111 road victory Thursday over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Covington made a pair of big 3-pointers in the last three minutes while making his Rockets debut after he was acquired in a four-team trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Covington made a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining for a 115-111 lead and added another with 1:27 remaining for a 120-111 advantage.

James Harden scored just 14 points for the game on 3 of 10 shooting as the Rockets went on a 16-3 run down the stretch to put the game away and win their fourth straight.

Anthony Davis scored 32 points with 13 rebounds while playing through a right index finger injury, while LeBron James added 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds.

Houston was competitive again with its new small lineup that did not include a starter taller than 6-foot-6. The Lakers held a slim 29-28 lead after one quarter, but the Rockets pulled even at 63-63 after two quarters. The Lakers had just a 22-19 rebounding advantage at the half.

The Rockets led 97-93 after three quarters and were up 102-95 in the fourth before the Lakers went on an 11-0 run to take a 106-102 lead on a James tip-in with 6:01 remaining. Davis had four points in the stretch.

The Rockets went on their own 8-2 run to take a 110-108 lead with 3:56 remaining on a 3-pointer from Eric Gordon and were up 112-108 with just over three minutes remaining, putting the game away from there.

Gordon had 15 points for the Rockets, while P.J. Tucker added 11. Danny Green and Avery Bradley had 15 points each for the Lakers, while Alex Caruso had 12. The Lakers finished with a slim 38-37 rebounding advantage.

Houston shot 50.6 percent from the field, and Los Angeles shot 49.5 percent.

The game was played just hours after James selected both Davis and Harden as his teammates for the Feb. 16 All-Star Game at Chicago.

--Field Level Media