The Houston Rockets came into Staples Center and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Surprisingly, coach Mike D'Antoni elected to play his starters regular minutes and try to win the game even though they've had the number one overall seed locked up for a few weeks now.

With the Lakers playing shorthanded and allowing some of their younger guys to take the reigns, it's no surprise that Houston's stars Chris Paul and James Harden were able to do whatever they wanted. That includes a pair of spectacular plays by Paul against Lakers' big man Ivica Zubac.

In the early parts of the fourth quarter, Zubac was switched out onto Paul, and Paul put up a series of dribble moves before knocking down a corner three-pointer. A few plays later, Zubac was switched onto him again, and this time, Paul dribbled backwards, then nutmegged Zubac en route to a wide open layup at the rim.

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Paul finished the game with 22 points, three rebounds, six assists, and one steal on 9-14 shooting, including 4-7 from beyond the arc. Houston will now travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings on Wednesday night. After forward, and best Rockets defender, Luc Mbah a Moute suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of the Lakers' game, coach D'Antoni might play it safe with his stars and sit them out so as not to risk a freak injury.