The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Houston Rockets, 105-99, marking their third loss in a row and seventh in the past 10 games, but the story of the night unquestionably was Andre Ingram. In a town where perfect stories are scripted, his NBA debut was nothing short of spectacular.
After spending 10 seasons in the development league, the 32-year-old rookie entered in late in the first quarter. And fittingly, Ingram, who leads the G League all-time with 713 made 3-pointers, caught fire.
His first shot was a 3-pointer, which was followed by a drive to the basket that drew a foul. Ingram knocked down both free throws and went on to finish the first half with 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting.
The Lakers opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead, and they managed to keep pace with Houston from there. That was until Joe Johnson sparked a 9-0 run to close out the quarter, giving the Rockets an 82-75 leading heading to the fourth.
Chris Paul scored 12 points in the final quarter to help the Rockets maintain a comfortable lead, but the Lakers began to mount a comeback when Paul and other starters checked out of the game with just over six minutes remaining.
Though, that was also when Ingram missed his first shot attempt — a contested layup on a fast break. Ingram nonetheless filled the stat sheet to the tune of 19 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks.
Josh Hart scored 20 points to extend his career-best streak of games with at least that many points to three. Julius Randle had 17 points and 12 rebounds in only 18 minutes.
Paul finished with a game-high 22 points, to go along with three rebounds and six assists. James Harden led all players with 10 assists, and added 21 points.
