Lakers player grades: L.A. puts Rockets to sleep in Game 6

The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the basketball world by winning each of the first three games of their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets . At that point, it looked like it was a lock that they would finish off the Rockets. But the Rockets won the next two games to stay alive, and suddenly the Lakers were in trouble with Game 6 taking place in Houston on Friday.

Early on, it looked like there would perhaps be a Game 7. Houston went up 16-11 with 5:13 left in the first quarter, and the crowd at the Toyota Center was supplying the positive energy Alperen Sengun and crew needed. But that was when the Rockets were hit with a huge Purple and Gold sledgehammer.

The Lakers went on a monstrous 27-3 run that extended well into the second quarter, giving them a 38-19 lead. From that point on, to borrow a phrase from late great Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn, this game was in the refrigerator. Houston was never able to hit its shots or generate any type of real offense, and L.

A. consistently maintained its intensity and kept the pressure on. Los Angeles played with more pace than it did in any of the prior five games of this series, and its transition defense was also excellent, allowing it to establish a 19-8 edge in fast-break points.