LOS ANGELES — The Houston Rockets found themselves in a familiar scenario Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, leading by five points with under a minute remaining.
Two games before, they had led by six points with under 30 seconds remaining, on the verge of their first victory in the series. However, things quickly fell apart, as costly turnovers by the team’s burgeoning stars, Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard, upended the moment.
This time, instead of faltering, the Rockets held on to beat the Lakers 99-93 and avoid elimination for the second straight game while trimming Los Angeles’ series lead to 3-2.
“I think it was just a learning moment. And I feel like we grew up. We’re growing up together,” Smith said. “And it’s just good to see Reed bounce back from the mistake, me bounce back from the mistake. … A week ago, we folded and lost the game, you know what I’m saying? So I think that’s a step in the right direction.”
The Rockets are the 16th NBA team to force a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series and the first since the Boston Celtics did so against the Miami Heat in 2023. Those Celtics lost in seven games; no team has recovered from being down 3-0 to win a series.
“We knew we were going to battle,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.
As the game reached its final minutes, Sheppard kept the Lakers at arm’s length. With the Rockets leading by three points with just under 3 minutes remaining, he sank a midrange shot, then stripped Lakers forward LeBron James for a dunk to bring Houston’s lead to seven.
“We definitely remember what happened in Game 3, and we didn’t want to let that happen again,” said Sheppard, who finished with 12 points and six assists while playing through a cold.
After that Game 3 loss in which Smith and Sheppard committed late turnovers and Jae’Sean Tate fouled Marcus Smart on a 3-point attempt, Udoka ripped his team.
“Horrendous mistakes,” he said. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.” He added that his team needed to “grow up.”
Despite his public criticisms, Udoka said Wednesday night that he was never concerned about his team responding to a 3-0 series deficit. He pointed to last year against the Golden State Warriors, when the Rockets were down 3-1 but rallied back to force a Game 7 before surrendering the series.
“It’s just showing growth in certain moments and progress in certain moments,” he said. “And I think we did that tonight.”
Smith was confident as well. Following practice Tuesday, with the Rockets down 3-1, he told reporters, “We’re obviously the better team, I feel like.” A day later, Smith backed up that talk with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds in the win.
“I don’t care who we play. I don’t care what team I’m on. When we was winning 22 games, I’d probably say we the better team every night,” Smith said. “I mean, people going to take how they want to take it, but I don’t care.
“It’s just a mindset, but you got to get on the court and prove it. … You can’t just say it and then come out and tuck your tail. You got to get out there and fight and do the things that it takes to win. So, I’m going to stand on that statement, and we just got to keep proving it.”
If Houston’s confidence was a front and just talk, after Wednesday, it was warranted, as the Rockets have outscored the Lakers 514-509 in the series. And they’ve done it with Kevin Durant missing four of the five games because of injuries.
After leading L.A. with 25 points and seven assists in the loss, James — the all-time leader in playoff games played — was asked about the best way to handle a team with a sudden surge of belief in a series.
“I don’t care about s— like that, bro,” James said. “The game is won in between the four lines. I don’t give a damn. Who cares? Of course, you say it. What would you say [instead], ‘Oh, we’re not the better team’? … Ask one of them young guys [in the locker room] that question. I’m too old for that s—.”
While James was unfazed by Smith’s remarks, he acknowledged that the Lakers must improve if they intend to end the series in six.
“Some of [our mistakes] were game-plan discipline, and some of them were just unforced errors,” he said after L.A. committed 15 turnovers, compared to 11 for Houston. “So, we got to be better in both areas.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.
