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Steve Blake’s three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-98 NBA victory Thursday over Houston and former Laker Dwight Howard. |
Howard, who never seemed to settle in with the Lakers last season and inked a four-year, $88 million deal with the Rockets in July, had 15 points and 14 rebounds.
But he made just 5-of-16 from the free throw line, including two crucial misses with 53.8 seconds left and the Rockets leading 98-96.
“The free throws were terrible,” Howard said. “I’ve got to keep working ... I’ve just got to get back in the gym and keep working—they’re going to fall.”
Howard said the defeat—after Houston had battled back to take the lead after trailing by as many as 19 points—was hard to swallow, regardless of the opponent.
“Nobody likes to lose,” he said. “So it’s very upsetting that we lost the way we did.”
James Harden led the Rockets with 35 points. But when he missed a jump shot with 12 seconds left, Los Angeles’ Pau Gasol grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with 10.9 seconds to play.
The Lakers’ Jodie Meeks then threw away an inbound pass, but Wes Johnson tracked down the loose ball to keep it in the Lakers’ hands with less than four seconds to play—setting the stage for Blake.
Coming off a double screen, Blake got a wide open look from the left and lofted a shot over Howard’s outstretched arms.
Los Angeles, playing without superstar Kobe Bryant as he continues his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon, notched their first road win of the young NBA season.
“It was huge,” Blake said. “Mainly because we were struggling our last two road games, we got blown out.
“For us to come back here and still have heart and play the way we did tonight—I think says a lot about the character of our team.”
Elsewhere Dwyane Wade poured in 11 of his 29 points in the final quarter, LeBron James added 18 and the Heat pulled away to beat the visiting Clippers 102-97 for their third straight win.
Chris Bosh and Ray Allen contributed 12 points apiece for the two-time defending champions Heat, who took control midway through the third quarter and improved to 25-1 at home since last season.
Blake Griffin had 27 points and 14 boards, J.J. Redick netted 15 while Chris Paul finished with 11 on just 3-of-11 shooting along with 12 assists for the Clippers (3-3), losers of two in a row following a three-game winning streak.
Trailing by four midway through the third quarter, the Heat buckled down on the defensive end and went on a 27-12 run. Wade had nine points in the surge and Shane Battier’s three-pointer from the right corner capped it, making it 91-80 with 7 minutes 48 seconds left.
The Clippers fought back, though. A layup by Paul and Griffin’s dunk pulled them to within 101-97 with 31 ticks to go. But Griffin allowed 15 seconds to run off the clock before Paul fouled James, who split a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Ty Lawson had 23 points with eight assists and the Nuggets rallied from eight down in the final quarter to clip the visiting Hawks for new head coach Brian Shaw’s first win after an 0-3 start.
Paul Millsap scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hawks, but missed a short jumper with 1.9 seconds left that would have forced overtime.