Striker LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers faces PJ Tucker striker (17) of the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA basketball game at the Toyota Center on Thursday, December 13, 2018 in Houston.
Browse the photos to see how the Rockets have behaved in every game this season.
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PHOTOS: Rockets game by game
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) faces Houston Rockets striker PJ Tucker (17) in the first half of an NBA basketball game at the Toyota Center on Thursday, December 3rd.
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Photo: Steve Gonzales / Staff Photographer
Photo: Steve Gonzales / Staff Photographer
PHOTOS: Rockets game by game
Striker LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers faces PJ Tucker striker (17) of the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA basketball game at the Toyota Center on Thursday, December 13, 2018 in Houston.
Browse the photos to see how the Rockets have behaved in every game this season.
less
PHOTOS: Rockets game by game
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) faces Houston Rockets striker PJ Tucker (17) in the first half of an NBA basketball game at the Toyota Center on Thursday, December 3rd.
… more
Photo: Steve Gonzales / Staff Photographer
P.J. Tucker of the Rockets does not step back from LeBron James' mission
LOS ANGELES – Lakers forward LeBron James has averaged 26.5 points on 52.5% of his shots in two games against the Rockets this season. But in the fourth quarter and extensions of these games, he scored only two goals out of a total of 10 attempts in the Rockets victories.
Rockets striker P.J. Tucker does not claim to have stopped James, nor even used him to fight James throughout these games. But Tucker said that he was against James then often for so long that it does not back down in front of the force that stuns a lot of players.
"You do what you can as a defender to dissuade him from scoring and affecting the game," said Tucker. "LeBron is so good sometimes, no matter what you do, he will do it, and during games you do not pay attention, you keep playing and you try to win.
"Every year, I'm in the NBA and I've been assigned to LeBron, and I've been playing against him since we were kids – it's something that's been going on for a long time."
SOLOMON: The owner will not be so happy if the Rockets do not move up a gear