HOUSTON -- Roughly 16 years have passed since the Los Angeles Lakers last brought out the brooms in the NBA Playoffs, sweeping the Utah Jazz in the midst of their 2010 championship run.
After handing the Rockets a soul-crushing overtime defeat in Game 3, Sunday night in Houston presented the Lakers an opportunity for their first clean sweep in over a decade. However, the job was not finished in four, as a resilient version of the Rockets pulverized the Lakers in 115-96 fashion to extend the series to a fifth game.
The Rockets never led by more than six in the first three meetings of the series, but in Game 4, they spent nearly the entirety of the second half operating with a double-digit advantage. The two ingredients were turnover creation and a significant disparity beyond the arc.
“Defense wasn’t our problem tonight. It was our offense,” Lakers small forward LeBron James said. “We turned the ball over 24 times for 30 points. Defense wasn’t our problem.”
Los Angeles withstood its turnover woes in Games 1 and 3, claiming a 3-0 series edge despite coughing up the ball 20+ times in both of those contests. However, overcoming the Game 4 turnover bug proved insurmountable for the purple and gold Sunday. The Lakers committed a series-high 24, a number which nearly doubled the Rockets’ 13 giveaways.
“We were dropping passes, myself included,” Smart said. “I was throwing passes to guys’ legs, normal passes that we make on a regular basis. It’s something we’ve got to clean up. We know it. We understand it. It’s not gonna get easier. We’ve played this team for four games now, and in the first three, we did very well. We understand it, and we’ll continue to stay poised.”
The Lakers’ Game 3 heroes, LeBron James and Marcus Smart, combined for 19 points on 5-of-17 shooting in the potential closeout game. Los Angeles’ offense — still down leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — also suffered from a severe three-point drought, finishing 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, they marinated in a dreary 1-of-10 showing, with Rui Hachimura delivering the lone triple of the first half.
“This is a top 10 defense the entire season,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said of the offensive struggles. “It’s obviously very challenging without your two leading scorers to generate offense. I think we’ll take a look at the process again on that end as well. I know our points per shot and expected points per shot were slightly below our season average. For me, it goes back to the two keys — take care of the ball — and we’ll look at that and how we can be better there.”
Meanwhile, the Rockets chipped in 12 three-pointers with their season on the line. The ringleader of it all was second-year point guard Reed Sheppard, who splashed a pair of early third quarter threes to ignite an extended Rockets’ run. Houston thoroughly dominated the third quarter 34-18 and opened the deficit as large as 28, while all five starters contributed at least 15 points in a well-rounded outing.
“We said we didn’t want that last 30 seconds [of Game 3] to defeat us in another game and put that behind us,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. “The focus was good today, and I think in general, the guys have pride. You don’t want to get swept, and we gave ourselves a chance.”
One Lakers’ bright spot in their first playoff defeat was the offensive resurgence of center Deandre Ayton. After compiling a combined eight points in Games 2 and 3, the former No. 1 overall pick chipped in an efficient 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting, lifting a struggling Laker offense with a flurry of post hooks. However, Ayton’s fruitful night was terminated at the 5:41 mark of the third quarter when he received a flagrant foul for elbowing Alperen Sengun in the face — resulting in an ejection that further burdened the Lakers.
“I know what I saw. I think he was embracing for Sengun on the post-up,” James said of the ejection. “Elbow was getting ready for the physical contact. Then if you see it, his arm slipped going up and then hit him in the head. The refs said they didn’t see it that way and they made a call. You’d have to be pretty damn good at it to completely elbow somebody like that on purpose.”
The No. 4 and 5 seeds in the Western Conference are now scheduled for return flights to Los Angeles. Despite a momentum-generating victory for the Rockets, history remains on the Lakers’ side as teams are 159-0 in NBA playoff series after securing a 3-0 lead. But in order to punch that coveted ticket to the next round, Los Angeles knows ball security will be an essential factor Wednesday night on its home court.
“It was a little bit lackadaisical from us,” Lakers point guard Marcus Smart said. “Shots weren’t falling early. We were getting to the rim, a lot of contact, weren’t getting the calls. It played a part, but we’ll be alright. We’ve been playing our asses off the last three or four games. We understand they came out, they did their job to bring it back to LA and we’ll see them there.”