Marcus Smart knows what it feels like to be on the other side. The last time the Lakers guard was in the playoffs, he was helping the Boston Celtics storm back from a three-game deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to force a near-historic Game 7.
Now he’s watched the Lakers’ seemingly insurmountable three-games-to-none series lead dwindle to 3-2 after a 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. Smart isn't flinching.
Whether defending a three-game lead or coming back from one, Smart knows the mindset is the same.
“We really got to literally go out there and be ready to die,” Smart said Wednesday after the Lakers failed to close out the Rockets for the second consecutive game. “... When I was on the other end, that was our motto: be willing to run through a wall and sacrifice your body for the betterment of the team. And that's what we're going to do now.”
NBA teams are 159-0 with a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff series. Only four have even pushed it to the decisive Game 7. Smart’s 2023 Boston Celtics, when they clawed back against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, lost Game 7 at home after star Jayson Tatum turned his ankle on the first play of the game.
Hoping to avoid joining the historic list, the Lakers get a third try at vanquishing the Rockets for good in Game 6 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PDT at Houston’s Toyota Center.
“Once we get on that plane and head down to Houston, we got to forget about it and understand what we are going for,” said LeBron James, who had 25 points and seven assists Friday. “It’s going to be even harder. Every game is hard. It’s so hard to close out a team in the postseason, to win a series, and this is our first time doing it as a unit.”
The Lakers built a three-game lead in the series despite playing without leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves in the first four games. Reaves returned from a Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain Wednesday, scoring 22 points on four-of-16 shooting with six assists, but his presence couldn’t stop the gradual decline of the Lakers offense.
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The Lakers have failed to reach 100 points in each of the last two games. From shooting 53.9% from the field and 51.7% from three in the first 10 quarters of the series, they have shot just 44.6% from the field and 29.2% from three in the last 10, excluding overtime of Game 3.
Luke Kennard, a flamethrower who scored 50 points in the first two games, has scored just eight in the last two. He was scoreless from the field Wednesday, including two missed three-pointers. A 91.2% free-throw shooter, Kennard even missed a free throw.
On the other hand, Houston has found its rhythm. The Rockets made 38.7% of their shots in the first 10 quarters — Games 1 and 2 and the first half of Game 3 — and have shot 46.3% in the 10 quarters since, excluding the Game 3 overtime period. Their three-point shooting has jumped from 30.9% to 34.1%.
“We just got to make shots,” Smart said of the offense's struggles. “... And we're not giving ourselves a chance by turning the ball over, which we can't get a shot up on the rim because of that.”
The Lakers had 15 turnovers that resulted in 18 Rockets points Wednesday. The game started slipping away in the second quarter when they had five turnovers with the Rockets scoring nine points off the miscues. The Lakers let their 11-point first-quarter lead turn into a four-point halftime deficit.
Smart, who was asked to handle more ball-handling responsibilities while Doncic and Reaves were injured, had six turnovers and just two assists Friday. He called them “unacceptable.”
“The turnovers come in all shapes and sizes, and it's about limiting them,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And you certainly have to give your guys freedom to make basketball plays. I would say in general though, turnovers of aggression are OK; turnovers of passivity are not.”
The Rockets only averaged 8.5 steals per game during the regular season, but had two players in the NBA's top 10 in total steals with guards Reed Sheppard (sixth, 122 total steals) and Amen Thompson (eighth, 119). They had three and four steals, respectively, in Game 5.
A defensive play from Sheppard stifled the Lakers’ late comeback. The Lakers trimmed a 13-point lead to three in less than three minutes. The cheer from the sold-out crowd at Crypto.com Arena was deafening when James kissed a left handed layup off the glass to pull the Lakers to within one possession with 2:59 left.
Sheppard immediately responded with a midrange jumper then picked James’ pocket on the next Lakers possession, going coast-to-coast for a two-handed dunk that pushed the lead back to seven with 2:20 remaining.
Read more:Lakers can’t close out Rockets series despite Austin Reaves' 22 points in return
The crowd went silent.
The Lakers had that same stunning effect on a road crowd already this series when they stormed back from a six-point deficit in less than 30 seconds in Game 3. The prospect of doing it again with even larger stakes brought an excited smirk to Smart’s face.
“We knew this was going to be a tough series,” Smart said. “I think everybody knew that, and it's turning out to be exactly what we expected. And now the fun begins.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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