The Los Angeles Lakers had an all-time franchise record of 40-1 when leading a playoff series 3-1 entering Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, with their lone loss coming against the Phoenix Suns in 2006. LeBron James had won 16 straight home games with a chance to clinch a playoff series at home — the longest streak in NBA history — entering Wednesday’s clash.
Both those decades-long streaks were snapped as the Lakers suffered a 99-93 loss at Crypto.com Arena.
James lost a closeout game at home for the first time since Game 5 of the first-round series and Washington Wizards in 2008, when he and the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to close the deal after taking a 3-1 lead into the Rocket Arena.
1. 2010: Cavs vs Bulls: 19/10/9 2. 2011: Heat vs 76ers: 16/10/8 3. 2011: Heat vs Celtics: 33/7/4 4. 2012: Heat vs Knicks: 29/8/7 5. 2012: Heat vs Celtics: 31/12/2 6. 2012: Heat vs Thunder: 26/11/13 7. 2013: Heat vs Bulls:
LA is 40-1 all-time when leading 3-1 (lone loss vs. PHX in 2006) 😤
If Houston looks to stave off elimination, staying out of a close one late will help, as LA has had success in clutch time this season, and this series.
Will he lead the Lakers to the second round tonight? 👀
Lakers Could Make More Infamous History
If the Lakers fail to win one of the next two games against the Rockets, they will become the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 lead in the playoffs.
Teams in NBA history are 0–160 when trailing 0–3
The young Rockets team, playing without their leading scorer Kevin Durant, fully believes they’re capable of pulling off a shocking 4-3 series win.
“After what happened in Game 3, we could have very easily shut it down and pouted and quit,” said Reed Sheppard of his team’s mentality, via ESPN.
“That’s not what we did. We watched it and we learned from it. We keep fighting and keep giving ourselves a chance to win.”
Rockets Gain Confidence vs Lakers
The Rockets open Friday’s Game 6 as 3.5-point favorites, but betting experts expect those odds to shrink further if Kevin Durant is cleared to return.
Looking ahead to Game 6, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin felt the Lakers had played into the Rockets’ hands by allowing their opponents to dictate pace and physicality.
“One of the factors that Redick said impacted the Lakers in Game 4 was the 48-hour turnaround after playing into overtime in Game 3,” he wrote after Game 5.
“But that was when the team was already in Houston. Now the team will have just 48 hours between Games 5 and 6, with a 3½-hour flight to take in between. The difference this time is the Lakers will have Austin Reaves, who scored 22 points with six assists but shot just 4-of-16 in his first game back after a month.
“It remains to be seen if the extra two days will allow the Rockets to get Kevin Durant back in the lineup. Durant has missed the past three games with a bone bruise in his sprained left ankle.”
Lakers vs Rockets Game 6 tips off 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday night. The winner of the series will advance to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West semifinals.
Lakers, LeBron James Loss in Game 5 Ended Two Impossible Streaks