LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 62 points and 21 rebounds, and the Lakers needed to hold off the fourth-seeded Rockets' second-half rally to win 117-109 and even their Western Conference semifinals series 1-1 in Orlando on Monday (NZ time).
James narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
What began as a Lakers blowout turned tight in the second half. The Lakers led by as many as 21 points early in the second quarter, but needed to survive the Rockets' surge after intermission.
The Lakers outscored the Rockets 27-17 in the fourth quarter, flipping a 92-90 deficit into an eight-point win. A James turnaround jumper to give the Lakers a 117-109 lead with 32.3 seconds to play all but sealed the win.
Davis took advantage of the Rockets' "micro-ball" style throughout, scoring 34 points in a variety of ways on 15-of-24 shooting. Markieff Morris scored 16 points off the bench.
James Harden finished with 27 points and seven assists. Eric Gordon scored 24 points, including a 6-of-12 mark from 3-point range, and P.J. Tucker totaled 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook struggled, making just four of 15 shots and committing seven turnovers.
Earlier, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton scored a game-high 36 points and hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left in overtime, as the Bucks staved off elimination and delivered a 118-115 victory over the Miami Heat in game four of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Milwaukee, the top seed in the East, lost the first three games of the best-of-seven series to fifth-seeded Miami.
