National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
L.A. Lakers 99, Houston 98
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 7, 2013
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #30 John Goble, #43 Dan Crawford, #18 Matt Boland
Attendance: 18133

Lakers 99, Rockets 98: Steve Blake hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining as visiting Los Angeles stunned Houston for its first road win.

Jodie Meeks hit five of the Lakers' 16 3-pointers and led the way with 18 points. Wesley Johnson had 16 and Blake finished with 14 for Los Angeles, which lost an early 19-point lead but closed the game on an 8-1 run.

James Harden paced Houston with 35 points but missed a pull-up jumper with 12.9 ticks remaining that might have iced it. Dwight Howard had 15 points and 14 rebounds against his former team, going 5-for-12 from the line down the stretch as the Lakers chose to foul him repeatedly to stem a Rockets charge.

Howard made a pair at the line with 2:40 left to give Houston a 97-91 advantage but made just one of his next six attempts. Two foul shots by Steve Nash and a 3-pointer by Meeks pulled Los Angeles within 98-96 and, after Harden's miss, Blake took an in-bounds pass all alone from the left wing and buried it.

The Lakers made 11-of-14 3-pointers in the first half, including one by Meeks with 15.8 seconds left, to take a 64-50 lead into the locker room. Chris Kaman's jumper 4:19 into the third kept it a 14-point margin before Houston began to chip away, as Jeremy Lin scored eight points in a 15-3 burst that made it 74-72 late in the stanza, setting up a back-and-forth final quarter.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Houston missed seven straight free throws in the second quarter and finished 33-for-52 from the line. Howard was 5-for-16. ... Los Angeles was 4-for-20 from beyond the arc in the second half before Blake's decisive shot. ... Lin and Chandler Parsons both scored 16 points for the Rockets.
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Houston
Jodie Meeks 18 Scoring James Harden 35
Jordan Farmar 7 Assists James Harden 5
Pau Gasol 12 Rebounds Dwight Howard 14
Steve Nash 4 Free Throws Made James Harden 14
Chris Kaman 2 Steals James Harden 4
Jordan Hill 2 Blocks James Harden 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 99 39.1 16-35 11-15 26 47 6 8 24
Houston 98 37.7 7-27 33-52 17 44 7 12 18
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game at home against L.A. Clippers. The Rockets have a W/L % of .600 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Lakers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.