LeBron leads as Lakers thump Rockets

 LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action against the Houston Rockets during a game at Toyota Center on January 10, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

LeBron James scored 26 points — and electrified his own Los Angeles Lakers bench with a nothing-but-net three-pointer — in the defending champions’ 117-100 thumping of the Rockets in Houston.

Anthony Davis scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Lakers notched their second big win over the Rockets in three days — after a 120-102 triumph on Sunday.

The Lakers held the Rockets — led by scoring champion James Harden — to just 14 points in the first quarter as they grabbed a 21-point lead.

Harden finished with 16 points on five-of-16 shooting.

The Lakers out-rebounded the Rockets 55-42 and had 23 second-chance points to Houston’s 11. They remained unbeaten in six road games and improved their league-leading record to 9-3.

James’s 22 points in the first half included a three-pointer from the corner right in front of the Lakers’ bench. The ball had barely left his hands when he turned to face his teammates, who surged up from their seats as it dropped through the net.

"I told him to bet a Benjamin on it…he turned around and said 'bet'". 😂 Dennis Schröder talks about @KingJames' corner three, the bench's reaction, and more with @LakersReporter. pic.twitter.com/SjnNpIHIzC

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 13, 2021

James said he’d spun around to make eye contact with guard Dennis Schroder, who’d called out “bet you won’t make it” before he took the shot.

“You’ve got to look them in the eye” to seal a bet, James said.