HOUSTON _ When Lou Williams sank a 66-foot heave at the halftime buzzer to make the score 67-55, it seemed perhaps that the Los Angeles Lakers were still within striking distance of a talented Houston Rockets team, perhaps the lift heading into halftime pushing the Lakers to a more competitive second half.
No momentum shift followed. The Lakers lost, 134-95, dropping their fourth consecutive game as they worked through significant injury problems.
The Rockets scored 39 points in the third quarter, stretching their lead to as many as 39 points. The Rockets' 106 points after three quarters tied a season high for Lakers opponents _ the other team to do it was Golden State in a 43-point win the day before Thanksgiving.
It was the Lakers' third loss of the season by 30 or more points.
The Rockets made 54 percent of their shots from the field and were led by James Harden, who had 25 points and eight assists, and Eric Gordon, who added 26 points on eight-for-12 shooting.
Lakers forward Julius Randle had his seventh double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers used their ninth different starting lineup of the season, with Marcelo Huertas at point guard, Jordan Clarkson at shooting guard, Timofey Mozgov at center, Randle at power forward and Luol Deng at small forward.
With the Lakers' injury situation growing more dire, coach Luke Walton reluctantly separated his dynamic second-unit guard combination of Clarkson and Williams.
On Wednesday they were without center Tarik Black (sprained right ankle) and point guards D'Angelo Russell (left knee soreness) and Jose Calderon (right hamstring strain), who did not make the trip to Houston. Nick Young did travel with the team, but is still recovering from a strained right calf.
