Ball turns in sad performance as Lakers lose to Rockets 118-98

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Houston Rockets 118-95 in the NBA on Sunday night without any suspense as the Lakers' so-called "future" Lonzo Ball had only two points, with three assists and one rebound.

The Rockets' superstar James Harden led his team with 36 points while Chris Paul added 21 points and Eric Gordon scored 22.

The Lakers' Kyle Kuzma took 22 points, but other bench players hardly scored at all on this unequal night. Since the 4th quarter, the Lakers never got closer than 16 points to the best team in the Western Conference now, who have won 14 of their last 15 games.

The Rockets have also won seven straight games and beat teams by more than 20 points per game since Paul returned to the lineup on Nov. 16.

The young Lakers lost their last five games and are headed into a tough Christmas season.

During this month, including Sunday night's game, they will met the Rockets three times, defending NBA champions the Golden State Warriors two more times, and the defending Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers once

Last December, the Lakers won only two games the entire month and lost 14.