The Lakers lost all momentum against the Rockets
LOS ANGELES- Going into Game 5, the Lakers were still comfortably in the driver’s seat against the Rockets.
Now the car is slowing down, making a strange sound, and the emergency lights are on.
Houston won Game 5 in Crypto.com Arena, and suddenly, a matchup one game away from victory is just another win away from a full seven games.
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“They’re the first team to win four games in a series,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game. “We won the first three. They won the last two. We have to improve.”
After having momentum firmly on their side after Game 3, the pendulum swung in the other direction.
Gone are the great games of Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart. The purple and gold rode Kennard’s wave to a win in Game 1, where he scored 27 playoff points. In Game 2, he was equally brilliant with 21 points while Smart added 25 points to give LA a 2-0 lead.
However, the Lakers fail to score at all now – Smart and Kennard included – having failed to reach the century mark in any of those losses.
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Even the return of Austin Reaves wasn’t enough of an injection to shut down the Rockets. He came off the bench and immediately made a difference in front of the welcoming Lakers crowd. He entered the paint, drew fouls on frustrated defenders and mostly looked like his old self, minus the efficiency after going 4-16 from the field.
“I thought he was aggressive,” Redick said. “[He] He did a nice job driving. He will find his rhythm.”
The NBA is an unpredictable league, so some of these offensive problems can be attributed to luck. However, turnovers are unacceptable and have been a growing problem throughout this series.
Los Angeles had 15 turnovers, which led to 18 Houston points. In some ways, both of these stats are actually improvements over Game 4. Entering this contest, the Lakers averaged 20 turnovers per game, the most of any playoff team.
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The Lakers also started to struggle with their outside shooting, which has been a strength early in this series. In Game 1 and 2 victories, they shot 23-47 (48.9%) from deep.
In their last two losses, however, they shot 12-49 (24.4%). Meanwhile, the Rockets reversed their fortunes by knocking down 26-70 (37.1%) of their threes in Games 4 and 5.
Momentum is hard to quantify, but like art, you know it when you see it. When you see role players struggling to score in losses and Houston putting in big performances in wins, it’s clear which side has the upper hand.
But the problem with momentum is that it swings back and forth. The Lakers don’t need momentum until another win ends Houston’s season.
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“It’s playoff basketball,” Smart said. “This is what every kid, every person, every player, every competitor dreams of, to be at the highest moment, on the highest stage, with the highest stakes. We knew they wouldn’t give up.
“They came out and did their job and extended the series for themselves.”
The Lakers now have just 48 hours to regain their momentum. If not, we’re in for a Game 7, and potentially a historic collapse.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.