The Los Angeles Lakers shocked everyone by winning the first three games of their first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets despite being without leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Behind the great play of LeBron James and some huge moments from Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, the Lakers found themselves on the verge of advancing to the second round.
Even though the team dropped Game 4 in Houston, the Lakers were still in excellent position to end the series with Game 5 being at home. Making things even better was the return of Reaves, who suited up for the first time since April 2.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, however, things did not go their way in Game 5 as their offense failed to get going and they ultimately were unable to put away the Rockets, falling 99-93. It is always said that the hardest game to win is the closeout game and that is proving to be true as the Lakers have been unsuccessful in ending this series.
The scary part now is that all the pressure has flipped and is squarely on the Lakers. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit and only four teams have even forced a Game 7. Having to go back on the road now will be a very difficult task for the Lakers as Houston has only continued to build confidence and definitely feels like they can pull off the impossible and win this series.
Fatigue may also be a factor now as there will only be one day off between Game 5 and 6, and the same will be the case if the series does indeed go seven games. Plenty of eyes will be on James of course, and many of his late shots in Game 5 came up short, but Reaves’ conditioning must also be watched as he is just coming back from injury and likely isn’t fully in game shape.
Reaves did have a solid outing in his return, though he did struggle with his shot as is often the case with players in their first game back. The guard finished with 22 points and six assists, but shot just 4-of-16 from the field and the Lakers as a whole hit just 7-of-27 from 3-point range, something that will need to turn around if the Lakers plan on avoiding making the bad kind of history.
Despite the series extending another game, however, Rockets star Kevin Durant is unlikely to be available for Game 6 as he continues to recover from a bone bruise in his ankle.
With the series continuing, the NBA announced the schedule and TV info for Game 6 between the Lakers and Rockets.
Rockets vs. Lakers playoff schedule & TV info
Game 6: Friday, May 1, 6:30 p.m. PT, Toyota Center, Prime Video
Game 7*: Sunday, May 3, TBD, Crypto.com Arena, Prime Video
*If necessary
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