"Darvin Ham's last game": Viral image of an agitated LeBron James staring down Lakers HC draws fan hysteria

LeBron James and the LA Lakers suffered a 135-119 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday. LA fell behind by as many as 30 points but a 20-5 run closed the gap to 121-111 with four minutes left in the game. The Rockets responded by scoring the next six points to take the fight out of the Lakers.

LA coach Darvin Ham removed James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the starters with about three minutes remaining. Houston had blown the lead back up to 127-111 following Jalen Green’s basket, prompting Ham to field the second-stringers.

While LeBron James sat on the bench, a clip of the four-time MVP seemingly throwing a dirty look at Ham went viral. Basketball fans on X (formerly Twitter) erupted:

“darvin hams last game as a laker,” one fan commented.

The LA Lakers dropped to 24-24 after the loss to the Rockets. Houston improved to 22-24, just one game behind the Lakers and the Jazz (24-24) for the 10th spot and final play-in tournament ticket. The Golden State Warriors (19-24) are also within striking distance.

Houston raced past the sleepwalking team from Hollywood in the first half. The Rockets had a 78-60 advantage leading into the second half. They kept their foot on the gas by hammering the Lakers 16-4 to start the third quarter.

Ham kept egging LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of his players to play with more energy. Ham’s players responded but it was a case of too little, too late. Houston had built enough of a cushion to walk away with the win.

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Darvin Ham didn’t like the way LeBron James and his teammates played defense to start the game

The emotional double-overtime win against the Golden State Warriors must have taken a toll on LeBron James and the LA Lakers. They didn’t have the legs or the focus to handle the Houston Rockets’ fast-paced attack and athleticism. Houston was up 42-31 after the first 12 minutes of the game.

The second quarter was no better for Darvin Ham’s team. They were outscored, outrebounded and outhustled by their opponents. LA gave up a 9-1 edge in offensive rebounds in the first half and was down 14-4 in that department after 48 minutes.

Ham had this to say about his team’s effort on both ends of the court:

“We just gave them too much early. … We gave up too much in transition, easy drives and drop-offs. When a team gets a rhythm like that, they get their confidence and the next thing you know everything starts going in.”

The LA Lakers were outscored 29-15 in fastbreak points. LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell and some of LA’s perimeter players were sometimes spotted jogging back on defense. The Houston Rockets punished them by zipping to the rim for easy transition points.

If not for LA’s flurry in the middle of the fourth quarter, the final deficit might have been even bigger. Darvin Ham deserved some blame for the loss but it was more on the players who allowed Houston to nearly run them off the court.