When the Lakers and Rockets last met on Christmas Day, it was a very revealing game for LA. The Lakers were run off the floor and forced to really begin searching for answers to questions that it took them some time to solve.

Quite a bit has changed for the Lakers since that blowout loss, particularly over recent weeks. And while the Lakers are peaking, the Rockets are crumbling. The result was, at least on Monday, a much different game than the first meeting with LA surviving a rock fight of a fourth quarter to come away with a win.

It wasn’t pretty, but it had the feeling of a playoff game, which the Lakers have had many of recently. Grinding out a win on the back of defense and on a night when the offense was struggling is a notch in the belt for the Lakers, who haven’t done that much this year.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

33 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 7-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT, +13

There were some highs and some lows in this game defensively for LeBron. Early in the third quarter, the Rockets scored multiple times off whoever LeBron was guarding just cutting to the rim. One quarter later, he was a big part of the team’s fourth quarter defense that suffocated the Rockets.

He also had a couple of highlights early and late offensively. It wasn’t a great game from him on either end, but he’s definitely had worse.

36 minutes, 11 points, 1 assist, 5 fouls, 4-9 FG, 3-7 3PT, +6

An odd game where Smart didn’t do a bit of everything and his stat line is pretty empty. However, anyone who watched the game knew Smart made a positive impact, including flying across the court to dive for a loose ball late in the game, a true peak Marcus Smart play.

27 minutes, 7 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-6 FG, 1-2 FT, +11

For three-and-a-half quarters, this was going to be a below average grade at best as actual Clint Capela was outplaying Lakers Clint Capela. And then he entered the game late in the fourth, completely swung things and helped the Lakers go on a run that won the game.

40 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 5-18 FG, 0-8 3PT, 5-5 FT, +11

This was a pretty brutal Reaves game. If you have concerns about how he’ll fair against athletic defenders in the playoffs, this wasn’t a great game to disprove those narratives. Even if he also came up with a couple of big fourth-quarter steals, the Lakers need much more of him offensively.

40 minutes, 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 14-27 FG, 4-12 3PT, 4-5 FT, +6

Luka absolutely carried the Lakers’ offense for big chunks of this game. He was back to his best with his shot-making and the Lakers needed every bit of it. If the Lakers had just a regular shooting night, those four assists are much higher, too.

23 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 3-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, -3

A quiet game from Rui. If he doesn’t have it going offensively, he loses value on the floor and, like everyone not named Luka, he did not have it going offensively.

17 minutes, 2 assists, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, +3

This was pretty safely Luke’s worst game as a Laker, which is a fact that should be marveled at for how great he’s been.

12 minutes, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0-1 FG, -6

I had to double-check this to make sure he actually played 12 minutes and didn’t record a rebound.

12 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-2 FG, 5-6 FT, -1

This was an active game for LaRavia, both complimentary and derogatory. There were more than a few times where he found himself in a bad situation that he made worse. But he also got to the line six times, which was some much-needed points on a night where they were a premium as the game progressed.

JJ has been coaching his ass off on this win streak. His best decision on Monday was going to Ayton late. After trying a small ball lineup that hemorrhaged offensive rebounds, Redick gave Ayton another shot and it immediately paid off. Spending the fourth quarter blitzing Kevin Durant worked wonders as well with Houston having no idea what to do.

Tuesday’s DNPs: Kobe Bufkin, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, Jarred Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr., Chris Mañon

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.