The Lakers’ mission was to take the Rockets’ postseason life away.
But the Rockets are still breathing.
And very much alive and confident after beating the Lakers 99-93 on the Lakers homecourt in a pivotal Game 5 to extend the best-of-seven first round playoff series by at least one more game, with the series shifting back to Houston with the Lakers leading 3-2.
“You gotta give them a lot of credit,” coach JJ Redick said. “They made shots, including some guys who normally don’t make 3s. Our defense, you hope 99 is enough to win, and we just couldn’t make shots. Missed some layups. Certainly had some good looks from 3 that didn’t go down. But we’ll take a look at the whole process, take a look at the substitution patterns and figure out where we can be better in Game 6.”
Even with star guard Austin Reaves making his return to the lineup after being sidelined since April because of a left oblique strain, the Lakers once again struggled offensively for the second consecutive – and 2 ½ games going back to the miraculous Game 3 comeback victory in Houston.
Reaves finished with 22 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds in 34 minutes in his first game since suffering a Grade 2 oblique strain in the April 2 loss to the Thunder, but struggled with his shooting and finishing, going 4 of 16 from the field. He made 12 of his 13 free throws.
“I missed a lot of easy looks,” Reaves said. “We didn’t shoot it great as a team. We’ll watch film [on Thursday], get better. We’ll go try to win a game Friday.”
LeBron James led the Lakers with 25 points and 7 rebounds, but missed a pull-up 3 with 12 seconds left that would’ve cut the team’s deficit to one point.
Marcus Smart had 6 of the Lakers’ 15 turnovers.
“Take care of basketball, we’ve been through this,” Smart said. “We understand this team and how they play, and they’re very aggressive and we got to take care of basketball. Myself, I had six turnovers and that’s unacceptable for me, especially with only two assists. Especially against this team. So we definitely got to take care of the ball. We got to do a better job, all of us, and collectively, and that’ll help us for sure.”
Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Jabari Smith led the Rockets with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a pair of blocked shots.
What it means
The Rockets are one of just nine teams to force a Game 6 after dropping the first two road games and first home game consecutively under the 2-2-1-1-1 playoff format since the league went to a 16-game playoffs in 1984.
Of the previous eight teams, only two have forced a Game 7.
Overall, the Rockets are the 16th team in NBA history to force a Game 6 after trailing 0-3 in a playoff series.
Turning point
When Smart overhelped off Amen Thompson in the left corner on a Reed Sheppard drive to the late in the shot, opening up a drive-and-kick opporunity that the Rockets took advantage of, with Thompson making the corner 3 to put the Rockets up 79-69 early in the fourth.
After Reaves missed a layup on the Lakers’ ensuing possession, Jabari Smith hit another to put the Rockets up by a game-best 13 points.
The Lakers kept the game close but didn’t cut their deficit to any closer than three points.
MVP: Alperen Sengun
Sengun recorded a series-high 8 assists to go with 9 rebounds and 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in Game 5.
The Rockets All-Star center made the Lakers pay for sending extra help his way.
Stat of the game: 7
That’s how many more 3s the Rockets made than the Lakers.
The Rockets shot 14 of 40 from beyond the arc compared to the Lakers’ 7-of-27 shooting on 3s.
Up next
Game 6 of Lakers-Rockets is scheduled for Friday at Toyota Center.
The matchup will tip off at 6:30 pm.
