LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers won coach Luke Walton’s debut, holding off the Houston Rockets 120-114 on Wednesday night.

D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points and Julius Randle added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the young Lakers, who got off to an exciting start in the franchise’s first season without Kobe Bryant since 1995.

With a revamped roster coming off the worst season in the 16-time champion team’s history, Los Angeles surged in the fourth quarter of an auspicious opener under Walton, the 36-year-old former Lakers forward.

James Harden had 34 points, a career-high 17 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who lost in former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni’s debut on the Houston bench.

The Lakers played an up-tempo, aggressive offensive game under Walton, and nobody seized the moment better than Clarkson, who came off the bench in his first game since signing a $50 million contract. His 3-pointer put the Lakers up 116-112 with 1:48 left, and the Lakers hung on while the Rockets missed a long series of open shots in the final minute.

Brandon Ingram scored nine points in the No. 2 pick’s NBA debut for the Lakers. Timofey Mozgov had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Luol Deng had seven points in their Lakers debuts.

After matching the franchise record with 14 first-half assists, Harden tied his career high with his 16th early in the third quarter. The Los Angeles native managed only six points in the fourth quarter, going 1 for 5, and his teammates were a combined 5 for 16.

LUKE’S DEBUT

Hall of Famer Bill Walton proudly wore a purple Lakers T-shirt to his son’s official coaching debut. Walton’s mother and three brothers also attended the game. “The Walton force will be strong tonight,” Luke said with a grin. “There’s definitely nerves and excitement right now, but mostly there’s no time to think about how incredible this is, and the opportunity. It’s more focused on watching film and getting the prep work in for tonight’s game.”

D’ANTONI RETURNS

The Lakers fired D’Antoni after he went 27-55 in 2013-14, the first of a franchise-record three straight non-playoff seasons. When D’Antoni was asked before the game about reflecting on his time in LA, the coach quickly quipped: “I try not to. … No, I loved it. I actually did. Manhattan Beach is probably the greatest place to stay. Great friends. They treated me nice, (Lakers owner) Jim (Buss) and (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak). It just didn’t fit. It just didn’t work.”

TIP-INS

Rockets: Clint Capela, the 6-foot-9 Swiss forward, replaced Dwight Howard in the middle of the lineup.

Lakers: Metta World Peace began his 17th NBA season, picking up three fouls in his first two minutes while guarding Harden. … Before the game, they solidified their young core by picking up their 2017-18 contract options on Russell, Randle and Larry Nance Jr. … Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, director Peter Berg, YG, Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended the game.

UP NEXT

Rockets: At Dallas on Friday in the opener of a home-and-home series.

Lakers: Open a four-game road trip at Utah on Friday.