Los Angeles Lakers: James Harden foul situation started trending against LA
By Ronald Agers
Remember when LeBron James tried to sell that âPlayoff Modeâ mess?
Coming into the last game of the season series against the Rockets, he tried to tell everybody that would listen that he liked being uncomfortable? Well he played like it for two and a half quarters. The Lakers were getting rolled by Houston being down as much as 19 points in the third quarter. I thought this game was over when I saw Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James arguing during a timeout.
After that, the Lakers went on a huge run and came back and beat the Rockets. This was the game that Houston showed the characteristics of imploding like they did against the Warriors in game one. Harden did not play well in this game and the Lakers went at him all night and made him play defense. Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram went out him and frustrated throughout the game.
The Lakers length bothers Harden and they took advantage by drawing offensive fouls. Even LeBron James to the charge to foul James Harden out.
James Harden wasnât alone being disqualified for fouls, Chris Paul fouled out as well. The Houston Rockets imploded similar to the way they did against the Warriors on Sunday. The NBA is about matchups. In this game, the Lakers had a plan for Harden and made him a volume scorer while beating him up on the defensive end.
Scott Foster is a big name in Game 2. He was the referee that the Rockets (most notably Chris Paul and James Harden) have a beef with. He hadnât refereed a Rockets game for months. This was the last game Foster and Rockets spent time on the NBA hardwood.