It did not take long for James Harden to emerge out of his shooting funk from the previous game. Harden scored his first basket of the night with a contested layup attempt over Anthony Davis early in the first quarter. The three-time NBA Scoring Champion would go on to score 25 first-half points en route a 112-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Friday night, inside the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando.
With the win, the Rockets opened the Western Conference Semi-Finals with a 1-0 series lead over the Lakers.