Coach Byron Scott remained with the same lineup he used against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday – Jordan Clarkson, Wayne Ellington, Ryan Kelly, Jordan Hill, and Robert Sacre - as the Los Angeles Lakers welcomed the Houston Rockets to the STAPLES Center Sunday evening.

Just like Friday night, Scott’s new lineup failed to produce, as the Lakers once again found themselves down early in the game and were never able to fully recover. By the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were already down, 30-15.

It seems like this lineup is too big and slow on the defensive end. In addition, most of the players lack experience, which all leads to the Lakers opening games up slowly.

Jordan Clarkson finished the night with eight points on 2 of 10 shooting to go with five turnovers in 28 minutes.

“I felt like I wasn’t making the right reads. I’m going to go back, watch film, and watch my clips and figure out what I did wrong,” the rookie said after the loss.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin, who received a DNP-CD on Friday, saw 28 minutes of action in this game. He shot 2 of 9 from the field, but was 10 of 14 from the free-throw line with 14 points and six assists. Lin played with tremendous energy and aggression.

“His efforts been great, that hasn’t been a problem, it’s just a matter of being consistent each and every night,” Coach Scott said of Lin.

“A DNP will kind of change your perspective on things,” Lin said. “Tonight I was enjoying the game.”

Lin was the catalyst to the Lakers’ late game surge that came up very short. After the Lakers were down most of the game by around 19-to-20 points, Lin helped the team cut the deficit to 11 with 4:54 remaining in the game, but the Rockets were able to stop the bleeding with a Corey Brewer three-pointer and close out Los Angeles with a 99-87 victory.

Instead of Lin, Nick Young was in the doghouse tonight. Young only managed eight minutes and did not score, going 0 for 2 from the field.

Byron Scott told reporters that Nick Young “didn’t look like he wanted to be here.” Young left without speaking to reporters after the game.

Carlos Boozer scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds off the pine. Ed Davis was a huge burst of energy as well, as he racked up 13 boards in 25 minutes. Wayne Ellington led the starting unit with 13 points, while Jordan Hill added 10 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

Scott continues to shuffle his rotations with the absence of Kobe Bryant, trying to experiment and find the best combinations.

For the Rockets, James Harden delivered with another huge scoring output, as he put in 37 points, dished out five assists, and plucked down eight rebounds. Dwight Howard did not play in this game due to an ankle injury he suffered against the Phoenix Suns Friday night.

Josh Smith and Jason Terry scored 11 points apiece off the bench, while Corey Brewer pitched in with 10. Those were the only players in double-figures scoring for Houston.

The Lakers were once again sloppy with the ball, accumulating 21 turnovers which led to 21 points for the Rockets. The Lakers also shot poorly from three-point distance, going 1 of 13 which is 7.7 percent. The Rockets didn’t shoot a great percentage, but they attempted a lot more threes and went plus-36 from that range.

With this loss, the Lakers have now dropped eight straight games. They have struggled to find any kind of consistency and are now 12-33 on the season.

The Rockets continue to battle for playoff position, as they are currently seeded fourth with a 31-14 record. They concluded their three-game Pacific division road trip with a 2-1 record.

Houston will now head back home to play a crucial game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, January 28th. The Lakers will stay home to face another tough opponent in the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, January 27th.