Rockets 108 Lakers 90
The Lakers lost more than their season opener at Staples Center on Tuesday night as rookie power forward suffered a fractured right tibia in the fourth quarter.
Randle was fitted with an air cast and was wheeled off the court on a stretcher and was later transported to a local hospital. The team announed he could undergo surgery Wednesday but a timetable for his return was no immediately known.
The injury occurred with 6 46 left in the game slightly after a tussle between former teammates Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.
Howard was called for a flagrant foul elbowing Bryant both received technical fouls as Bryant taunted Howard yelling You're soft and Try me.
The Rockets looked like the significantly better basketball team quashing a few Lakers' runs to win by 18 points leading by as many as 27.
James Harden led all scorers with 32 points hitting 15 of 16 attempts from the free throw line.
Howard struggled through foul trouble but managed a double double with 13 points and 11 boards. Power forward Terrence Jones scored 16 with 13 rebounds. Trevor Ariza also added 16 points.
Bryant played 30 minutes scoring 19 points on 6 of 17 shooting. Carlos Boozer contributed 17 points with seven rebounds. Jordan Hill had 10 rebounds but needed seven shots to score seven points.
lRelated Lakers NowPreview Lakers vs. Houston RocketsSee all relatedEd Davis fouled out with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Lakers. Randle scored two in 14 minutes before going down with the leg injury.
The Lakers shot 35.4% from the field while allowing Houston to hit 42.5%. The Rockets converted 41.4% from long range (12 29). The Lakers hit just 30% (3 10).
A total of 89 free throws were attempted 50 by the Rockets.
The Lakers (0 1) travel to play the Phoenix Suns (0 0) on Wednesday night. The Rockets (1 0) visit the Utah Jazz (0 0) also on Wednesday.
Rockets 85 Lakers 69 (end of third quarter)
Dwight Howard picked up his fourth foul just over a minute into the third quarter heading to the bench with 10 53 on the clock.
The Lakers quickly went on a 12 1 run led by Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin to get within eight but Houston settled down and pushed their lead back to double digits.
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