Los Angeles Lakers' woes continue in OT loss to Western Conference-worst Houston Rockets

HOUSTON — A triple-double from LeBron James and a high-scoring effort from Russell Westbrook weren't enough to halt the Los Angeles Lakers' self-destruction tour, with Wednesday's 139-130 overtime loss to the Rockets being the latest lowlight in a season full of them.

«We kind of messed around with the game and they had confidence throughout the night,» said Westbrook, who had one of his finest games as a Laker with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting (7-of-8 on free throws), eight rebounds, six assists and just one turnover.

Asked to elaborate, Westbrook said L.A.'s lack of defensive urgency allowed Houston to start rolling.

«We gave up 32-, 36-point quarters [in the] first and second quarters, which is a lot of points,» he said. «Guys made some shots. So now when [it is] guys [shooting who are] not normally making 3s or whatever it may be, they'll make 'em.»

Boy, did they ever make them in overtime. The Rockets started the extra session on a 10-0 run and ended up shooting 7-for-8 as a team from the field, including 5-for-5 from 3.

«They caught fire in that overtime,» Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony said. «Everybody.»

Rockets star rookie Jalen Green single-handedly outscored L.A. 10-7 in overtime until Malik Monk hit a 3 with 25.7 seconds left and the outcome all but decided. Green, who scored a career-high 32 points, said going after Anthony was crucial to his success.

«Our game plan was just to attack Melo and find the mismatch on the floor,» Green said. «So when it came down to it, we were looking for Melo and I was attacking him every time.»

L.A. had a chance to avoid overtime when James drove the left wing toward the hoop with the score tied 120-120 and the final seconds ticking off, but his pass out to Anthony resulted