Losing Game 4 was understandable. The Houston Rockets were desperate, on the ropes, and fighting with way more hunger to keep their season alive. Losing Game 5, considering everything that should have been working in the Los Angeles Lakers' favor, is pretty inexcusable.
The Lakers' lost a disappointing 99-93 contest to the Rockets at Crypto.com Arena, extending the series for at least one more matchup. The homecourt, the return of Austin Reaves, JJ Redick's powerful message ahead of Game 5 — none of it mattered.
Los Angeles blew a perfect opportunity to wrap this one up. They did so while wasting the jolt of added offense provided by Reaves. The Lakers guard had 22 points and six assists in his return from a grade 2 oblique strain.
There was some notable rust. Reaves did not quite have that usual touch on his scoring, blowing a handful of relatively easy opportunities for a player of his talent. Even so, there was value to be had from having him. Unfortunately for the Lakers, a heroic comeback from one of their two star guards was not the story of the game.
Lakers' inconsistent effort plagued them all night against the Rockets
LeBron James pointed out after Game 4 that turnovers were a problem. While the Lakers did cut down on their total, they still lost that battle in Game 5.
Los Angeles gave away 15 turnovers on the night, led by a frustrating performance from Marcus Smart that featured questionable pass after questionable pass. Smart's energy is always welcomed, but sometimes it can turn into erraticism. This was one of those nights for his playmaking.
The Lakers failed to really sustain offense throughout the evening. Redick's team only put up 19 points in the second quarter and 20 points in the third. Luke Kennard having his worst game of this series did not help in that department whatsoever.
Reaves should have been the sweetener on top of what the Lakers were trying to do. Instead, for large chunks of the evening, the freshly-available guard was asked to rescue possessions and bail the team out. AR shot just 4-of-16 from the field in the process.
Suddenly, the Lakers are flirting with a dangerous game. The Rockets have confidence after winning two in a row and are headed back to Houston for Game 6 of this series on Friday. Los Angeles better hope they can finally find 48 minutes of consistent effort and offense again.
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