By pulling off a 115-96 rout in Game 4 on Sunday, the Houston Rockets avoided what would have been a comical sweep at the hands of a Los Angeles Lakers squad that has played the entire series without its two best players under the age of 41.
Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) were both still sidelined as their Lakers attempted to close out the first-round series in Houston. Also stuck in street clothes for an elimination game was Kevin Durant, who missed Game 1 with a bruised patellar tendon, appeared in Game 2 only to pick up a bone bruise and a sprained left ankle, and has been out since. His absence has gutted the Rockets half-court offense, which can only rise to mediocrity with the 37-year-old Durant on the floor. (It's even more dire than you think: In Game 2, during the minutes that Durant was off the floor, his team had an offensive rating of 40.)
But in Game 4, the Rockets received an aid package of transition scoring: The Lakers committed 23 turnovers, which resulted in 30 points the other way. LeBron James, who has otherwise had a sublime series that has warmed the hearts of graying millennials, committed eight of those turnovers while hounded by the Rockets' corps of brawny defenders. After the loss James blamed himself and the team's broader offensive execution. He finished with 10 points (on 2-of 9 shooting) and nine assists, hitting the bench to manage his considerable load with 7:25 left in regulation, after the sweep was well out of reach. The Lakers were likely already doomed when their one guy playing well, DeAndre Ayton, was ejected in the third quarter for elbowing Rockets big Alperen Sengun in the head. "We both are sweaty guys," reported Ayton, who had 19 points and 10 assists. "[My arm] just slipped off his shoulder." Even Sengun thought the ejection was "a bit soft."
Sengun and the rest of the Houston starters shared the scoring burden, with all of them managing at least 16 points. With Durant injured, they have trotted out the second-youngest starting lineup in playoff history, and it has mostly looked like it. But aside from the transition scoring boon, these bricky Rockets also finally began to hit their jump shots in Game 4. They hit an uncharacteristic 40 percent clip from three, led by 4-of-7 from Reed Sheppard, the only player with enough juice for pull-up threes in the Durantless version of this team.
It couldn't have been easy to recover from the wreckage of Game 3. With 30 seconds to go in regulation, a six-point lead, and possession of the ball, the Rockets threw up on themselves. A bizarre bad pass from Jabari Smith, Jr. led to three made Marcus Smart free throws. On the next Rockets possession, LeBron poked away the ball from Sheppard and hit a three. The Rockets went on to lose in overtime, becoming just the second team in the last 30 years to lose a playoff game after leading by at least six with 30 seconds left in regulation.
That was the game that cast them into a 0-3 hole, which no team in NBA history has climbed out of. History says they will still fail, and perhaps health does too, since Lakers coach JJ Redick said that Austin Reaves is getting closer to his return, which will ease the creative burden on LeBron. But with the only lopsided win of the series, the Rockets at least began to drag themselves up from the abyss.
