HOUSTON — The Lakers still have control of this first-round series even after the blow they took from the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
As ugly as their 115-96 loss was, the Lakers still hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.
All the Lakers have to do is win Game 5 on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena and they will advance to the second round.
But they will have to play better than they did in Game 4.
LeBron James, who played a stellar 45 minutes during the Lakers’ overtime win Friday night, wasn’t as spry. He had just 10 points, reaching double figures on a floater with 8:37 left and the Lakers down 26.
He was just two for nine from the field and he had eight turnovers. James also had nine assists and he became the first player in NBA history to record 3,000 field goals in the playoffs.
Luke Kennard was quiet with seven points on three-for-eight shooting and Marcus Smart had nine points on three-for-eight shooting. Rui Hachimura had 13 points on six-of-10 shooting from the floor.
The bigger concern was the Lakers’ inability to take care of the basketball. They turned it over 24 times.
All of Houston’s starters scored in double figures. Amen Thompson had 23 points and seven assists and Alperen Sengen finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
When the Lakers went down 17 points in the third quarter on a Thompson basket that was part of Houston’s 12-4 run to open the frame, Lakers coach JJ Redick called a timeout to allow his group to collect themselves.
It didn’t help, as the Lakers’ deficit swelled to 26 points.
It didn’t get better for the Lakers later in the quarter when Deandre Ayton was ejected because of a flagrant foul for his left elbow striking Sengun on the side of the head.
Ayton was having one of his better games in the playoffs, posting 19 points and 10 rebounds before he was ejected with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
Austin Reaves got up shots before the game in an attempt to play in his first game since being injured on April 2 at Oklahoma City, and again, he was downgraded to out because of a left oblique muscle strain.
In the end, the Lakers saw no need to rush Reaves back considering how they have dominated the series before Game 4. The two days off before Game 5 will give Reaves more time to get healthy.
“I think it’s fair to consider everything,” Redick said. “Austin and I had a conversation yesterday for a long time, and I think ultimately the athlete has to feel confidence, and that’s always the final hurdle coming back from an injury, is the psychological component of it.”
For the Rockets, Kevin Durant missed his third game of the series because of a bone bruise in his sprained left ankle.
Note: Lakers star Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) continues to work out on the court, but there’s no timetable for his return.
“[He] was able to move a little bit today on the court, which, you know, most of the stuff had been stand-still,” Redick said. “So he’s progressing, but no update on any timeline or anything like that.”
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