HOUSTON — Leading by six with below 30 seconds to go, the Rockets have been on the verge of their first victory of their first-round collection in opposition to the Lakers.
Instead, they fell aside and finally lost 112-108 in overtime Friday night time and are on the brink of elimination.
“Horrendous mistakes,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka mentioned. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.”
Even with Kevin Durant out for a second game in this series — this time as a result of of a sprained left ankle after he missed Game 1 as a result of of a proper knee harm — the Rockets have been in place to shut out the recreation after LeBron James had consecutive turnovers that Houston became a 101-95 lead.
Then all the pieces went improper for the Rockets. Marcus Smart was fouled on a 3-point try with 25 seconds to go in regulation after a Houston turnover and made all three free throws to get the Lakers inside three.
James then stole the ball from Reed Sheppard, and his 3-pointer tied it at 101 with 13 seconds left.
“It was a stupid turnover,” Sheppard mentioned. “[Alperen Sengun‘s] man got here up. I ought to have hit Alpie proper over half courtroom and simply made the easy play. I attempted to separate the two defenders.”
The Rockets had an opportunity to take the lead after that, however Sengun’s 7-footer was off. James grabbed the rebound and referred to as a timeout. He caught the inbounds go and had an opportunity to win it at the buzzer, however his 3-point try bounced off the rim to ship it to additional time.
Houston struggled at instances to shut out video games in the fourth quarter throughout the season, and the downside continued Friday night time.
“It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” Udoka mentioned. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious, and you can’t have those.”
This is the second straight playoff journey for the Rockets after they returned final season for the first time since 2020. They have been eradicated in the first spherical in seven video games by the Golden State Warriors.
Having that playoff expertise, Udoka does not see any excuse for his or her collapse Friday night time and had a message for his workforce.
“Grow up,” he mentioned he instructed them. “You’re not that young anymore.”
Sengun, who led the Rockets with 33 factors and 16 rebounds Friday night time, mentioned they have to discover a option to transfer on as they put together for Game 4 on Sunday night time in Houston.
“We’ll be upset tonight. That’s for sure,” he mentioned. “But we’ve got to get over it. Nobody’s giving up.”
It’s unclear whether or not Durant will return Sunday to assist them stave off elimination.
“Up in the air,” Udoka mentioned. “I think we made some progress in the last few days, but we’ll see how that [goes] with only one day in between.”
Udoka made the Rockets watch the final 30 seconds of regulation instantly after the recreation to attempt to assist his gamers be taught from their errors. Then, he instructed them to begin trying ahead.
“Now, you’ve got to go get one on Sunday and don’t let this one beat you twice,” he mentioned.
