The Los Angeles Lakers carried out what was expected from them. Arriving into Game 4 as the favorites, they didn’t disappoint. They beat the Houston Rockets, 110-100 to 3-1 up in the series.

The Lakers were dominant throughout the game and out-muscled the Rockets in the paint. In Game 1, they were tied for the rebounds despite their height advantage over the small-ball Rockets, but tonight they destroyed them on the glass. They had 52 rebounds, double of the Rockets’ tally of 26, and they also set a record with this dominant display.

LeBron James led the charge on the glass and had a game-high 15 rebounds. The other Lakers players with double-digit rebounds were Anthony Davis, with 12, and Rajon Rondo, with 10.

The Lakers didn’t have the best shooting night as they shot a miserable 9/30 from the three-point line. But they were commanding in the paint as they scored 62 points just in the paint, more than half of their total points. Davis had a couple of misses from three, but he then stuck to his strengths and punished the Rockets in the paint and with his killer midrange.

Los Angeles Lakers survive a late charge

Throughout the game, the Lakers were breezing past the Rockets. At one point, they were up by 23 points. But in the last eight minutes, they were a bit too relaxed. With 7:21 left, the Lakers were leading 101-78. Then the Rockets started pushing for a late comeback. With 58 seconds left to go, the Rockets made the score 105-100 and were closing in.

But then Alex Caruso hit a three to seal the game. The Rockets weren’t able to score after that, and the game was put to bed by an alley-oop jam from LeBron.

3-1 up now, the Lakers will be expected to finish business on Saturday. They have made light work of the Rockets so far. But now in the next round, they are most likely going to play their rivals Clippers, who are also one of the favorites. It will not be an easy task, but the Lakers have the tools to beat them.