The Houston Rockets are on the brink of a play-off exit. The Los Angeles Lakers countered their comeback in the final quarter with a dramatic comeback of their own. The outstanding man here: L.A. guard Marcus Smart.
For the Rockets, who were already under huge pressure after two away defeats, the game began under the worst possible circumstances. Star player Kevin Durant had to sit out for the second time in the current first-round series due to an ankle sprain.
Possibly spurred on by the absence, the Rockets started boldly in attack. The next bad news, however: so did the Lakers. Rui Hachimura (22, 8/14) in particular caught fire in the opening minutes. The big man scored eleven points in the first four-and-a-half minutes. After an alley-oop lay-up by Kennard, Jaxson Hayes even gave the Lakers their first double-digit lead before the end of the opening quarter.
The game remained in this 10-point range throughout the second quarter. Luke Kennard made it 52:63 at half-time from mid-range.
Rockets turn the game around in the final quarter – at first
After the break, the Lakers’ efforts in offense hit a snag. LeBron James (29 PTS, 13 REB, 6 AST, 8 TO), who produced another strong game, gradually ran out of steam. At the other end, Sengün (33 PTS, 16 REB, 6 AST) now became more and more active. A 10:2 run, which Amen Thompson (26/11) completed with a thunderous dunk, cut the Californians’ lead to two points.
The momentum then seemed to really shake in the final quarter. After further zone points by the Rockets, Reed Sheppard put Houston back in front for the first time since the opening quarter with a three (92:91). When LeBron committed his seventh turnover to date with 43 seconds left in the fourth period and Sengün increased his lead to +6 in return, the game almost seemed to be over. However, another missed three by James did not mean the final chapter. The reason? Marcus Smart!
Smart averts defeat that seemed certain
The Lakers guard immediately stole the ball from Jabari Smith and drew a three-point foul. The lead shrank to three points. And even that was soon a thing of the past, as Sheppard made a bad pass and LeBron drained a three-pointer to equalize. Extra time.
The course of the game seemed to have robbed the home side of its final belief. It took a minute and a half for Sengün to score his team’s first points in overtime. However, the Lakers had already pulled away after Smart’s three-pointer and Hachimura’s free throws. Smart scored eight of the Lakers’ eleven points in the final period to secure victory number three in game three.
Los Angeles is therefore on the verge of advancing to the second playoff round – even without its two star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The fourth, potentially decisive game will take place on Monday night at 3:30 a.m. German time.