Alex Caruso LeBron James
Photo: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals to the Houston Rockets (97-112). James Harden finished the game with 36 points as the Lakers struggled to stop him.

After the game, Alex Caruso talked about the defeat and what it takes to slow Harden down. “One of the challenges for was we didn’t know who we are going to play. So we’re kind of doing both. We’re kind of one foot in the door against them, one foot in the door against OKC,” he referred to the seven-game first round series between the Rockets and Thunder.

“He’s led the NBA in scoring for however many years. He can put the ball in the basket with the best of them. His ability to create space and shoot over the top and also to get to the paint and draw fouls and find that shooter on the back side. That’s what makes him so good… There is no right answer. There is no formula, one thing to stop him just like there was no one thing against Dame and CJ,” Caruso said about stopping Harden.

“There’s gotta be a collective group effort to try to contain him as much as we can. He’s going to score. We’re going to hold him without a bucket or probably even hold him in single digits.”

Game 1 highlights: