In loss to Lakers, Cam Whitmore fuels short-handed Rockets with career night
With their No. 2 standings placement in the Western Conference secure, the Houston Rockets (52-29) had nothing to play for in Friday's road game at Crypto.com Arena. On the other side, Los Angeles (50-31) still had yet to clinch home-court advantage and a top-four seed in the 2025 playoffs.
It showed in a 140-109 victory for the Lakers (box score), who clinched the No. 3 seed with the win. Luka Doncic led the way with a game-high 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4%) and 5-of-9 from 3-point range (55.6%).
Given that the game's result was meaningless to Houston, the Rockets were conservative with minutes and appearances for several rotation regulars. Tari Eason, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, Steven Adams, and Jae'Sean Tate didn't play, while leading scorer Jalen Green (7 points, 4 rebounds in 15 minutes) was on a clear minutes limitation.
'What we want to do is get the guys who are nicked up totally healthy and keep some of the younger guys sharp and give them an opportunity,' head coach Ime Udoka said. 'But the basic thing is they've earned it and they deserve this time. It's a good position to be in.'
Yet, the Rockets stayed competitive for parts of the game, thanks in large part to a career night from Cam Whitmore. In 37 minutes, the second-year guard/forward finished with a career-high 34 points and 8 rebounds on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4%), including 7-of-12 from 3-point range (58.3%).
'He was attack mode, which he always is," Udoka said of Whitmore. 'He was aggressive against whoever, some of the starters and some high-level players. It's never about scoring with Cam. He's always going to be aggressive and be in attack mode, and he does that kind of in his sleep. He just has to continue to grow in other areas.'
For the Rockets, other statistics of note included:
Reed Sheppard: 14 points, 5 assists; 5-of-14 sohoting (35.7%), 4-of-8 on 3-pointers (50.0%)
Nate Williams: 12 points, 2 rebounds; 5-of-12 shooting (41.7%)
Aaron Holiday: 11 points, 4 assists; 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%)
With only 22 minutes needed versus a short-handed Houston squad, Lakers superstar LeBron James had 14 points and 8 assists on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%).
April 11 Rockets-Lakers Complete Highlights
April 11 Postgame Reaction and Interviews
What's Next
Houston finishes out its 2024-25 regular season with Sunday's home game versus the Denver Nuggets (49-32). The Rockets will open up their first-round playoff series against the West's No. 7 seed the following weekend.
More: Entering NBA's final weekend, Rockets still have five potential first-round opponents
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New York Times
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