The Los Angeles Lakers were thoroughly outplayed in Thursday’s 119-96 Christmas Day home loss to the Houston Rockets.
After their embarrassing performance, Lakers coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back on his squad, delivering a cutting assessment of its failure to execute his game plan.
JJ Redick Blasts Lakers’ Effort After 23-Point Christmas Day Home Loss vs. Rockets
Despite playing in a primetime Christmas Day slot against one of its top Western Conference foes, LA came out flat defensively, falling behind by 14 points in the first quarter.
The Lakers’ struggles persisted throughout the night, as they never led in front of their home crowd at Crypto.com Arena. Their deficit ballooned as high as 24 points in the second half, fueled by Houston’s 18-5 run to open the third quarter.
Rockets wing Amen Thompson led the way with a game-high 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, shooting an efficient 12-for-19 (63.2%). Meanwhile, Houston superstar forward Kevin Durant added 25 points, four rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, and four 3-pointers on 8-for-14 shooting (57.1%).
Thompson and Durant were two of six Rockets who tallied 13-plus points in what marked a well-balanced offensive attack.
AMEN & KD SHOW OUT ON CHRISTMAS DAY 🌟🌟
Amen: 26 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST
KD: 25 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 2 BLK, 4 3PMRockets win in LA for #NBAXmas 🚀 pic.twitter.com/VIqxU0dNqv
— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2025
Conversely, Lakers superstars Luka Dončić and LeBron James finished below their season scoring averages, combining for 43 points. They received little help from their supporting cast, including a zero-point showing from starting forward Rui Hachimura.
In his postgame interview, Redick attributed his team’s shortcomings to a lack of discipline.
“The two words of the day were effort and execution. I feel like when we’ve done both of those things at a high level, we’ve been a good basketball team, and when we haven’t, we’re a terrible basketball team,” Redick said. “And tonight, we were a terrible basketball team, and that started legitimately right away.”
When asked why his team was “unable to execute” on the big stage, Redick delivered a blunt explanation.
“Because we don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “That’s the part that bothers me a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be professional. … We don’t have it right now.”
The second-year coach later disclosed that he gave his players a stern warning about what to expect at their next practice and team meeting.
“Saturday’s practice, I told the guys it’s gonna be uncomfortable,” Redick shared. “The meeting is gonna be uncomfortable. I’m not doing another 53 games of this.”
JJ Redick went scorched earth on the Lakers postgame. pic.twitter.com/ZLuOKyqMBQ
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 26, 2025
Thursday’s loss marked the Lakers’ third straight, dropping them to 19-10, just half a game ahead of the sixth-seeded Rockets (18-10).
They will look to right the ship during Sunday’s home clash against the faltering Sacramento Kings (7-23), who sit at the bottom of the West.
