NBA Hoosiers (Sept. 6): Eric Gordon Scores 24, But Rockets Drop Game 2 to Lakers

Eric Gordon had the hot hand from three-point range on Sunday, but his 24 points weren't enough to hold off the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series. Houston lost 117-109 and the series is now tied 1-1.

Gordon, who is averaging 19.3 points during Houston's nine playoff games so far, had his best game of the postseason. The 24 points were a playoff high, and his six three-pointers were the most he's made all year, tying his regular-season high.

The Lakers' dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James played much better than they did in the series opener on Friday. Davis looked unstoppable for much of the night as he tallied 34 points on 15-for-24 shooting. As for James, he finished the night with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Houston star James Harden finished with 27 points, but All-Star Russell Westbrook, who missed five games in the first round with a quad injury, struggled. He was just 4-for-15 shooting and scored only 10 points.

"You got to be ready to go from the start. You knew they were going to come out and be aggressive and we weren’t ready to go," Westbrook said of the Lakers' 36-20 first quarter lead. "It took us some time to do that. We know we can’t afford to do that.”

Westbrook struggled mightily and had seven turnovers along with five fouls.

"Some of them are my fault," Westbrook said. "Some are missed calls, but it’s on me. I don’t point fingers at nobody else on my mistakes, and that’s that."

The Lakers won despite allowing 22 three-pointers from the Rockets. Houston had a big third quarter to get back in the game, and actually led by two to start the fourth. Gordon scored 10 points in the third to spur the comeback.

"We really got it going in the third. We were scoring and defending,'' Gordon said. "You've got to be able to do different thing. My intention is to play well every single game, and that never changes for me. I always intend to have a big impact on the game.''

The Lakers used a 3-2 zone to change things up, and it paid off when they pulled away in the fourth quarter.

"We understand that this team has the ability to make five, six, seven 3s in a row and go on big runs like they did in the third quarter," Vogel said. "To not overreact to that and stay the course with what was working for us in the first half. We did that. And we were able to get our defense set and under control in the fourth."

Sunday's other NBA game

Milwaukee Bucks 118, Miami Heat 115, OT: Kris Middleton scored 36 points to pick up the slack for an ailing Giannis Antetokoumnpo (ankle) and the Bucks stayed alive with an overtime win. It was the first loss of the playoffs for Miami, which had swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round and had won the first three games of this second -round series as an underdog. Game 5 is Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET

Monday's NBA playoff games

Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celitcs, 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): Former Hoosier OG Anunoby has helped the Toronto Raptors dig out of a 2-0 hole and now the series is tonight heading into Monday's pivotal Game 5. The Raptors have outshot the Celtics in the two wins, with no shot bigger than Anunoby's buzzer-beater three-pointer to win Game 3. "It's a make or miss league," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "We made a bunch of three-pointers (in Game 4) and they didn't make a bunch. Similar to the way the first two games went, where we didn't make any and they made a bunch." Former Hoosier Romeo Langford is on the Celtics' roster, but he's played only four minutes so far in the series.
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers, 9 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): Denver got physical in Game 2 and pushed around star Kawhi Leonard to even the series. Leonard was just 4-for-17 shooting on the night, and didn't score a single point in the second half, finishing with only 13 points, his worst playoff performance in more than five years.