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The Houston Rockets picked the worst time for their worst playoff game.
Needing a win to even the series and not fall into a deep 3-1 hole behind the Lakers, the Rockets came out in Game 4 and stayed flat. Apathetic. Tired. Disinterested. All of the above. James Harden was asked how the Rockets could turn out like this in such an important game for their season.
“Good question.”
And Harden left it right there.
While the Rockets ran very little and too late in the second half of the fourth quarter to cut the lead and lose by just 10, the game wasn’t that close.
The Lakers dominated behind 29 points from Anthony Davis and an effort from LeBron James that came within a triple-double assist to win 110-100. Los Angeles now leads the series 3-1 and can close it out in Game 5 on Saturday.
Statistics don’t usually tell the story, but in this game they did:
• James Harden made six 3-pointers, tied for second-lowest all season.
• Russell Westbrook, who has shot 25.8% from three this season, hit eight.
• The Rockets made 33 shots from beyond the arc, their second-lowest number since committing to the small ball (they only had 30 in the last game). Houston averaged 51 3s against OKC last round.
• Harden made 2 of 11 shots (but reached the free throw line 20 times).
• PJ Tucker had zero points.
• Houston had just 41 points in the first half (after scoring 38 in the second half of Game 3).
• The Lakers had 12 offensive rebounds, which means they had a second chance on 35.6% of their misses. The Rockets had one.
• The Lakers reached the basket at will, taking 45.5% of their shot attempts eight feet from the basket.
More unsettling than all those numbers for Houston: The Lakers have run the same basic defense on Harden (especially in the second half) for the past three games, a blitz double single. The Rockets have had no response.
The big change in this game was that the Lakers finally started “small” with Davis at center and LeBron at four, with no JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard for the entire game. Or, to put it more precisely, the Lakers started out the way they should always line up against the Rockets (and most teams, for that matter).
“We can play big. We can play small. We can play in the middle, ”Davis said after the game.
The Lakers also got 16 points off Alex Caruso’s bench, including a three-dagger in the fourth to end the Rockets’ comeback dreams. Rajon Rondo had 11 points and another Rondo Playoff game.
The Rockets played this game without sixth man Danuel House, who remains under investigation for a possible violation of bubble protocol. He allegedly let a woman, who tests players for coronavirus, into her room (or at least the Rockets hotel) at night, when she was not there in her working capacity. He could face a 10-day coronavirus quarantine as punishment. The Rockets probably won’t last that long in the bubble.
Houston’s backs are against the wall. Coming back from 3-1 against is not impossible, Denver did it in the final round, but it might as well be if a team plays without passion and effort, as the Rockets did on Thursday.
“I don’t have an explanation for you,” Westbrook said when asked about the flat game. “There should be a sense of urgency on everyone’s part.”
“We know we’re in a big hole right now, but the next game is the one we have to win,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We will go out and if we put it into play like we did in the last quarter, we will be fine.”
Or not. LeBron is 13-0 in his career when his team leads 3-1 in a playoff series.
