Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
Kyusung Gong/Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka wants his team to feel pressure, so he did not try and downplay the significance of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Neither did Lakers coach JJ Redick. Just 3 ½ games separated the two teams in the standings when they met for a Western Conference showdown at Crypto.com Arena, with a potential tiebreaker up for grabs and, in the Rockets’ case, an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot.
It would have to wait. The Rockets got within two points in the final minute but lost to the Lakers 104-98, leaving the season series tied 1-1 with a final winner-take-all game scheduled April 11 in Los Angeles.
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On an off night for Rockets leading scorer Jalen Green, who finished with nine points on 4-of-13 shooting, Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 20 points including nine in the fourth quarter.
Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr. had a double-double off the bench with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Dillon Brooks added 16 points while Alperen Şengün had 14 points with seven rebounds and six assists.
Luka Dončić scored 20 points with nine assists and six rebounds for the Lakers, while LeBron James scored 16 points with four assists and eight rebounds. Harassed by a carousel of Rockets defenders, the two Lakers stars combined to shoot 11-of-28 from the floor. But Los Angeles also got 20 points apiece from bench players Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent, who combined to make a dozen 3s off the bench.
The Rockets held the Lakers to 39.3% shooting but shot just 41.6% themselves. Houston also committed four more turnovers and shot 14-of-17 on free throws while Los Angeles was 18-of-20 at the line.
“The difference was a few of their guys made shots,” Udoka said. “Some of our better shooters had off nights shooting as well, so felt like we left a lot of things on the table. And yeah, you win some you lose some close games, but definitely an opportunity to take that one and missed them, especially with some late turnovers down the stretch.”
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The game had the tenor of a playoff matchup: physical, low-scoring and urgent. Houston outscored Los Angeles by 16 points in the paint but was just plus-one in second-chance points and plus-three in fast-break points.
“I’ve never been to the playoffs, so I don’t know, but I would imagine it’s something like that,” Smith said. “The game has some importance to it. It felt like it was kind of more than what it was, you know what I’m saying? The crowd was into it and it kind of felt that way. Both teams really locked in. I feel like that’s what the playoffs is all about, just making adjustments on the fly and just playing hard. So we got a good taste of it tonight.”
Houston entered the game with the most “clutch situation” wins in the NBA this season and the sixth-best winning percentage in those games. The Rockets could not deliver another.
The Rockets trailed by five points just under the two-minute mark, when James motioned to his teammates to slow down. Fred VanVleet found Thompson in the corner and the Rockets’ second-year guard drove baseline but decelerated at the last second and did a Eurostep into a layup to cut the deficit to three points.
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After Şengün walled up and forced a James turnover, Brooks drew a foul and went to the line with a chance to make it a one-point game with 20.1 seconds remaining. He missed his first free throw but swished the second and the Lakers called timeout up 100-98.
The Lakers inbounded the ball to James and Thompson fouled him, sending the four-time NBA champ to the line with 11.1 seconds to go. James sank both free throws and the Rockets called timeout down 102-98.
With eight seconds left, James blocked Şengün’s shot into the courtside seats — the experienced king of magnitudinous moments denying a rising young star his own moment.
After Brooks missed a 3-pointer, the Rockets were forced to foul and Finney-Smith sealed the game at the line.
“The difference is just making shots and limiting turnovers,” Thompson said. “We had two turnovers at the end that we didn’t need. Without those, it could have been a different game. I think our defense was pretty good, but we just needed to score more.”
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The Rockets (49-27) remain second in the West while the Lakers (46-29) are fourth.
Udoka has tried to prepare his young team for the obstacles that await in postseason basketball, but there is no match for experience. You don’t really know until you know.
No matter how well the Rockets are clicking now, how impenetrable their defense and how balanced their scoring, the NBA playoffs are a different beast.
“Just the attention to detail, the consistency you have to have to win the playoff series and locking in, and the level of focus has to go up,” Udoka said pregame. “Obviously, the physicality and game slows down, all those things that they haven’t experienced. But we also have played some meaningful basketball last year and the in-season tournament, and this last I think seven out of eight games will serve us well going to the playoffs, playing against the high caliber teams, and so it’ll kind of be the first time that they’ll have to deal with it, for sure. And you want to get that deer in the headlights look out really quickly — but at the end of the end of the day, it’s basketball, and I think what we do well carries into the playoffs.”
The Rockets will have to wait another few weeks to get there. Until then, games like Monday’s — played in a bone-rattling atmosphere at an historic venue against a juggernaut franchise represented by two faces of the league and with seeding implications — are the closest approximation.
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The Lakers offered a preview of how teams might scheme against the Rockets in the playoffs. Los Angeles made an effort to deny Şengün and limited his involvement on offense for much of the first half. Although Brooks, Thompson, Smith and Tari Eason collectively slowed down Dončić and James, the Lakers hunted VanVleet on switches and freed up Finney-Smith on pick-and-pops with Dončić, who baited the Rockets into reach-in fouls.
“They do like to pick on certain matchups. We feel we can hold our own on certain positions on the court, but they did dart us across the court too easily at times,” Udoka said. “Or the weak side defender didn’t have to do much with the play. And so those are ones we can’t give up. We don’t mind them working against some of our better defenders to take those tough 2s, but the weakside skips, especially early, kind of hurt us. So we got to be a little bit more crisp there and be engaged on the weak side and not give those open 3s up.”
Both teams played in mud for the first 12 minutes, combining to shoot 28% from the field in the opening quarter. The Rockets led 19-16 but ended the first quarter without an offensive rebound or a fast-break bucket, their bread and butter.
After Şengün went 3-for-3 and scored six points early, the Lakers did everything they could to keep him from touching the ball, including fronting him in the post. It worked as Şengün did not score in the second quarter.
The Lakers flexed a strength the Rockets lack: consistent 3-point shooting. Finney-Smith and Vincent especially killed the Rockets from the corners when Houston defended in zone, with Dončić and James acting as additional threats from the middle of the floor.
Although an impressive two-way performance by Smith and transition scoring from Thompson gave the Rockets an eight-point lead in the second quarter, the Lakers would not be bullied. At halftime, the score was tied 48-48 after the Rockets outscored the Lakers 30-16 in paint points but didn’t attempt a free throw. Dončić was the only player on either team who took a free throw in the first half (6-of-8), including splitting a pair with 1.3 seconds to go.
After going 0-for-3 on second-chance opportunities in the first half, Houston scored 10 second-chance points in the second half. With the game hanging in the balance and the Rockets down four points early in the fourth quarter, Udoka chose to go small with Smith at center.
That helped the Rockets get back in the game by running out in transition and switching actions to their liking in order to guard one-on-one.
“It’s just we can play faster, we can switch everything,” Smith said. “The defense is a lot easier because it’s not a lot of rotations. It’s just kind of guard your man, and rebound. So I mean, it’s a different look.”
The Rockets have six games remaining in the regular season. Five are against opponents in playoff position, including a rematch against the Lakers next week.
Houston has adjustments to make, like guarding against pick-and-pops and scoring more efficiently against shifts. The Rockets’ execution will depend on whether they receive the message Udoka is trying to impart: In the end, it all comes down to the details.
