LeBron James led an immense second-half effort as the Los Angeles Lakers fought back to defeat the Houston Rockets in back-to-back games.

The Lakers’ talismanic forward scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter while Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook each contributed 27 as the home side emerged from the Staples Center 119-117 victors.

Los Angeles struggled defensively in the first half and were down by 11 in the third quarter before Westbrook righted things with a 13-point quarter ahead of James’ big finish.

The Rockets next face the Phoenix Suns, who will be riding high after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 112-100 in a game where Suns point guard Chris Paul had 18 assists to move to third in NBA history with 10,346 career helpers.

Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley had season-high scores of 36 and 30, respectively, as their Utah Jazz firmed their lead atop the Western Conference with a 119-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Moving to the East, where the Detroit Pistons fell to 1-6 following a visit from reigning champions the Milwaukee Bucks which ended with the hosts on the wrong side of a 117-89 scoreline.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak and the Pistons’ number one draft pick Cade Cunningham’s shooting woes continued with nine missed three-point attempts.

And the East-leading Miami Heat held off a late rally to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 125-110 and notch their fifth consecutive victory.