The Rockets had nothing to play for.
With the second seed in the Western Conference all wrapped up, the Houston Rockets continued to rest most of their players, while the Los Angeles Lakers were playing their whole crew, trying to wrap up the third seed. As you can guess, Houston couldn’t hang in a 140-109 defeat, but there were some good things.
First, Cam Whitmore went off for 34 points on 13-for-19 shooting, including 7-for-12 from deep. He also added 8 rebounds along with an assist, a steal and a block. Fellow rookie Reed Sheppard had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block. He was 4-for-8 from three. Nate Williams and Aaron Holiday pitched in 12 and 11 points respectively, and that was it for Houston’s double figure scorers.
The Lakers were led by Luka Doncic, who finished with 39, and Austin Reaves, who had 23. The Lakers shot 61 percent from the floor as team, with the vast majority of Houston’s athletic defenders resting for the postseason.
Not much else to say about this one. Houston falls to 52-29 on the year, but it’s inconsequential to playoff seeding for the Rockets, while L.A. will finish right behind the Rockets as the third seed.
Houston will play their final regular season game of the year on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets, who are also still playing for NBA Playoffs seeding.