So how did the Rockets blow Game 3 against the Lakers?
· Yahoo Sports
HOUSTON — Technically, the Lakers had not gotten across the finish line yet — 35 seconds and a five-point lead still flashed on the overtime clock hovering over Toyota Center — but the teary-eyed look of defeat across every member in red as they trudged back on the floor told a painful, regretful tale. The white flag had already fallen out of their collective pocket.
In the blink of an eye, the Rockets had gone from hopeful to horrendous. The valiant efforts taken to eradicate a 15-point deficit and turn it into a six-point lead were now wiped from memory. A series of critical errors in a span of roughly half a minute — a pair of careless turnovers by Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard, leading to a pair of subsequent steals by Marcus Smart and LeBron James — highlighted the spectrum of experience that has spanned across three games this series and what ultimately threatens Houston’s existence.
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The tunnel that connects both locker rooms depicted just as much; cheers and high-fives at one end, silence and shuffling of feet at the other. The Rockets, for large portions of Game 3, had no business being in that contest, yet failed to grasp the olive branch the Lakers dangled on Friday evening; a reminder that life is all about second chances, just not in April.
“Horrendous mistakes,” head coach Ime Udoka said following Houston’s 112-108 overtime loss that pushed his team into a 3-0 hole after it had a 99.8% chance of winning with a six-point lead in the final 35 seconds of regulation, according to InPredictable. “I don’t know if you want to say youth, scared of the moment or whatever the case, but you have a six-point lead with 30 seconds to go. Just have to hold the ball and get fouled. To combat it, make it worse and [commit] a terrible foul, another turnover and James makes a tough shot. And then the final play for the last shot, we don’t run what was drawn up. All of the above.”
The bitter truth for the Rockets, as they stare at a deficit no team in NBA history has ever come back from, is that this game and series is a microcosm of the issues that have plagued them since October. For the third straight game, the Rockets attempted more field goals (19 more, to be exact) than Los Angeles. They snagged twice as many offensive rebounds (18 to 9) as their opponent, scored more points off those second chances, turned the ball over less and scored more in transition and also in the restricted area. From a pure possessional standpoint, the crux of which today’s basketball — and especially the postseason — is based upon, there’s not much more the Rockets could have done structurally speaking.
But the problems, oh the problems, are aplenty. Houston generated a meager 85.9 points per 100 half-court possessions, a rate worse than Utah, Sacramento, every modern tanking team known to mankind and the Sunday rec league faithfuls. The Rockets, a low-volume 3-point shooting team by nature, have been forced out in the middle of the dance floor of a middle-school homecoming, and, like an awkward teenager, have been embarrassed, shooting just 28.7% from long distance, third-worst among playoff teams.
Without Kevin Durant, who missed Game 3 nursing an ankle sprain, one could have assumed the Lakers, who had already built a reputation on doubling and trapping the veteran scorer, would dial down their attempts. Not only did Los Angeles continue to mix in traps and doubles for both Reed Sheppard and Alperen Şengün — who missed 27 combined shots and turned the ball over eight times — but they consistently forced Houston to take low-percentage shots. During the regular season, Durant-less lineups had an effective field-goal percentage of just 53.1%, with a poor turnover and free-throw rate. That same monster reared its ugly head in Game 3, with the Rockets finishing with a 46.4 effective field-goal percentage, turning the ball over on nearly 17% of possessions and finishing with a negative free-throw rate — despite posting otherworldly offensive rebounding numbers.
(With or without Durant in Game 4, the Rockets desperately need both Şengün and Sheppard to come with elimination-level desperation and efficiency. Şengün took three quarters to arrive at the party, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, but rushed his final few possessions. Sheppard, for all intents and purposes, struggled against the Lakers’ size and strength and looks overmatched physically in the series.)
“It wasn’t enough,” Şengün said. “I guess I could have done more on defensive positions, some missed shots. I still did a good job, but like I said, it wasn’t enough, so I’ve got to come better on Sunday.”
Game 4 on Sunday, Houston’s last chance of survival, will require a collective energy unseen in these parts this season. Despite the loss, there are certainly positive takeaways that should spill over. The Rockets did a phenomenal job in the second half defensively, leaning on their brute force, switching and taking away some of the Lakers’ go-to actions, holding them to just 38 points in the second half. Smith, who finished with 24 points and shot 6 of 10 from 3, displayed the combination of aggression, versatility and shot-making that this team has been crying out for since he was drafted in 2022. Amen Thompson, with 26 points and 11 rebounds, was a decisive downhill force and found success when the Lakers extended their defensive shell.
But if LeBron and Smart continue to turn back the clock, if Rui Hachimura continues to score efficiently and if Bronny James, with five points in nine minutes, is going to outscore Houston’s entire bench again, Cancun is going to become quite populated in the very near future.
“This is very, very disappointing,” Smith said. “So definitely a terrible feeling, but from here on out we got to win. Every game is a Game 7 and got to dig deep, find it and win four in a row.”