The Los Angeles Lakers have their second win of the season in the books after beating the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. That game got their three-game road trip off to a positive start as the return of Nick Young pushed the offense. Now they prepare for Game 2 which features a reunion for Dwight Howard with Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin with the team that did not want him.
The first time the Lakers and Rockets faced off, first-round draft Julius Randle was carted off the court with a broken leg ending his season before it truly began. Howard and Bryant got into a shoving match, both receiving technical, as Howard gave his former teammate a hard elbow to the face. The Lakers ended up falling 108- 90 in that matchup.
The Lakers are trying to build off the win over Atlanta. Bryant hit 10 of 18 shots for 28 points on the night. He is on a scoring kick after putting up 44 points to Golden State. Lin had one of his best games of the season added 15 points and 10 assists something he would like to repeat against the Rockets. The point guard is looking to have a big game against Houston after they traded him following two years as a starter. He looked bad in their first meetup, going just 1 of 5 with six assists and four turnovers.
The Rockets are 9-2 on the year looking like a real threat in the Western Conference. They are coming off a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies where the team went just 8 of 34 from beyond the arc. James Harden had one of his worst games of the year getting just six points, but he is currently averaging 32.6 points and 7.1 in his last seven games against the team. The Rockets could be without Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley which hurts their depth in the game.
