LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Los Angeles Lakers were on a wild ride at Disney.
A huge lead in the first half had turned into a two-point deficit after three quarters. If they didn't turn things around, the No. 1 seeds would be down 2-0, though Anthony Davis said they weren't thinking about that.
"Our mindset was, 'How do we win this game?' " Davis said.
Having LeBron James take over usually does the trick.
James had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Davis added 34 points and 10 rebounds and the Lakers evened the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Houston Rockets 117-109 on Sunday night.
Markieff Morris scored 16 points for the Lakers. They opened a 21-point lead in the first half, gave up 41 points in the third quarter to fall behind, and then regrouped behind some high-flying plays by James to pull away again.
"We're at our best when he's in attack mode," Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said.
James took only 15 shots in Game 1 and was scoreless in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 112-97 loss, saying afterward that the Lakers needed to experience a game to understand how fast the small-ball Rockets play.
"I think we adjusted from Game 1 to Game 2," James said.
And when the Rockets adjusted from the first half to the second, James was dominant on both ends in the final quarter. He had eight points in the quarter and a powerful blocked shot on Russell Westbrook that flew far out of bounds.
James Harden scored 27 points and Eric Gordon made six three-pointers and added 24 for the Rockets, who made 22 three-pointers. P.J. Tucker had 18 points and Robert Covington 17, but Westbrook finished only 4 for 15 while scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
"They just came out and played harder than us, I feel like," Harden said. "In the second half, we woke up and took the lead. We've just got to have that intensity at the beginning of the game and we'll be all right."
Game 3 is Tuesday night.
The Lakers also dropped their opener against Portland in the first round but won Game 2 comfortably on their way to four consecutive victories.
This one appeared it would be easy, then appeared it might not come at all.
But James had a dunk to open the fourth and tie the game and another dunk on a lob during an 8-0 run that gave them the lead for good. They put it away later in the quarter with a 9-0 burst, featuring two baskets from Davis, to make it 113-101.
Morris sparked a big finish to the first quarter. He had a three-pointer with 1:11 left, then connected again at 52 seconds and a third time with 31 seconds left, pushing the lead to 33-17. Rajon Rondo made one more at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 36-20 cushion.
HOUSTON (109)
Gordon 8-16 2-4 24, Tucker 7-10 0-0 18, Covington 5-10 3-3 17, Harden 6-12 11-13 27, Westbrook 4-15 1-3 10, J.Green 0-2 0-0 0, House Jr. 5-10 0-0 13, McLemore 0-1 0-0 0, Rivers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-78 17-23 109.
L.A. LAKERS (117)
Davis 15-24 3-6 34, James 10-17 7-10 28, McGee 0-1 0-0 0, Caldwell-Pope 2-5 0-0 5, D.Green 3-6 0-0 9, Kuzma 6-7 0-0 13, Morris 6-8 0-0 16, Caruso 1-5 0-0 2, Rondo 4-9 1-2 10, Waiters 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 47-83 11-18 117.
Houston............20314117--109
L.A. Lakers........36312327--117
3-Point Goals--Houston 22-53 (Gordon 6-12, Tucker 4-7, Covington 4-8, Harden 4-8, House Jr. 3-7, Westbrook 1-7, Rivers 0-2), L.A. Lakers 12-27 (Morris 4-5, D.Green 3-5, Caldwell-Pope 1-2, James 1-5, Rondo 1-5, Caruso 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Houston 35 (Westbrook 13), L.A. Lakers 41 (James 11). Assists--Houston 22 (Harden 7), L.A. Lakers 30 (James, Rondo 9).
BUCKS 118, HEAT 115, OT
Milwaukee lost the first three games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, then lost the NBA's MVP while trying to fend off elimination. No problem. The Bucks aren't done yet.
Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo missing most of the game with a sprained right ankle, the Bucks extended their season to a Game 5 on Tuesday.
Khris Middleton scored 21 of his 36 points in the third quarter, then made a huge three-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime and the Bucks topped Miami in Game 4,
Antetokounmpo scored 19 points in only 11 minutes, and Brook Lopez and George Hill each had 14 for Milwaukee.
Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists for Miami. Duncan Robinson scored 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler 17 each. The Heat gave up 12 consecutive points in the final quarter, wasting what was an eight-point lead in a closeout game.
MILWAUKEE (118)
G.Antetokounmpo 8-10 2-4 19, Middleton 12-28 9-9 36, B.Lopez 5-11 2-3 14, Bledsoe 6-13 2-3 14, Matthews 1-4 0-0 3, Korver 1-3 0-0 3, Williams 2-3 0-0 5, Connaughton 1-2 0-0 2, DiVincenzo 4-7 2-3 10, G.Hill 5-11 0-0 12. Totals 45-92 17-22 118.
MIAMI (115)
Butler 6-15 5-6 17, Crowder 6-12 0-0 18, Adebayo 10-13 6-6 26, Dragic 5-17 6-7 17, Robinson 7-13 0-0 20, Olynyk 1-3 1-1 3, Iguodala 0-2 0-0 0, Jones Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Herro 4-11 0-0 11, Nunn 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 40-90 18-20 115.
Milwaukee2228352211--118
Miami311740198--115
3-Point Goals--Milwaukee 11-35 (Middleton 3-7, B.Lopez 2-5, G.Hill 2-5, Korver 1-2, Williams 1-2, Matthews 1-4, DiVincenzo 0-2, Bledsoe 0-6), Miami 17-47 (Crowder 6-12, Robinson 6-12, Herro 3-6, Nunn 1-3, Dragic 1-9, Iguodala 0-2, Olynyk 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Milwaukee 46 (Bledsoe 10), Miami 41 (Adebayo 12). Assists--Milwaukee 25 (Middleton 8), Miami 33 (Adebayo, Dragic 8). Total Fouls--Milwaukee 20, Miami 18.
