Lakers rally to force OT, outlast Rockets for 3-0 series lead

HOUSTON — Every time the word leaves JJ Redick’s mouth, it’s as if he’s trying to will the result into existence.

The grueling reality of a playoff series without the high-scoring duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, so far, has left the Lakers needing every extra inch, players up and down the roster stepping up in their absence. It was the key in Game 1, the key in Game 2 – and in Houston on Friday night, the key in Game 3. For Redick, winning in the postseason comes down to desperation.

“The desperate team normally wins in the playoffs, the more desperate team,” Redick said, about an hour before Game 3 tipped off. “We can’t relax.”

Desperation under dire circumstances didn’t stop the Lakers from finding their lifeline in a 112-108 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets, winning the 5-minute extra period 11-7 after a stunning comeback in the final minute of regulation. The win gives the Lakers a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series with a chance to close it out in Game 4 on Sunday night.

LeBron James had 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and hit a game-tying 3-point shot with 13.1 seconds left in regulation to help extend the game. Marcus Smart scored 21 points (eight in overtime) to go with 10 assists and five steals, and Rui Hachimura scored 16 of his 22 points before halftime and shot 4 for 7 from 3-point range.

The Lakers led by as much as 15 points in the first half but found themselves trailing by six with 30 seconds left in regulation. A steal by Smart led to a trio of free throws after Jae’Sean Tate fouled him behind the arc.

Smart made all three to cut the margin in half with 25.4 seconds left.

“He’s just a selfless player, he just cares about the team, cares about winning and that’s what a leader does, he puts his body on the line for the team, that’s what he does,” center Jaxson Hayes said.

On the following inbounds play, James stole the ball from Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, collected a feed from Luke Kennard and tied the score at 101 with a right wing 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds remaining. After the Lakers successfully halted Alperen Sengun’s potential game-winning shot at the other end, a James 3-point attempt from the left wing bounced off the rim at the regulation buzzer – sending the game to overtime.

“Horrendous mistakes,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Houston’s final 30 seconds of regulation. “I don’t know if you want to say youth, or scared of the moment.”

Rockets leading scorer Kevin Durant sat out for the second time in the series, this time nursing an ankle injury, and was not on the bench with his teammates during the game (Udoka said he was receiving treatment). Sengun starred in his absence with 33 points on 15-of-27 shooting, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 47 minutes.

Smart kicked off the overtime scoring with a 3-pointer from the corner as the Lakers started the extra period on a 6-2 run. Smart later saved a 3-point miss from James, and forced his way to the free-throw line for a pair on a second-chance attempt. He made two more foul shots after securing a defensive rebound when Jabari Smith Jr. (24 points, 6 for 10 from 3-point range) missed from long range.

The Rockets’ final two shots fell short and the Lakers held on for another resilient win.

“We got to be the most desperate team and that’s how we have been playing and that’s how we are winning, right?” Smart said. “The chemistry has been built because of that and you’re starting to see guy’s confidence go up because of that.”

Of the nine Lakers who played more than a minute, each had a contribution, LeBron James said. Bronny James, in nine minutes, outscored the Rockets’ bench 5-3 with a 3-pointer and an alley-oop off a feed from his father in the second quarter.

Hayes came up with a pair of blocked shots and stopped Sengun on the final possession before the end of regulation. Hachimura flew past the Houston post players for a last-chance offensive rebound and finished off a passing seminar for a second-chance basket to go with a two-possession lead in overtime. Smart skidded across the floor for a loose ball and was fouled, a jaw-scraping effort that forced him to check his teeth on his way up from the hardwood.

“We’ve talked for the last 10-plus days just about elevating everything,” Redick said of his team, which overcame 20 turnovers and a 19-8 disadvantage on the offensive glass to win Friday. “And this was our first road playoff game. And you have to elevate your poise, you have to elevate your composure, recognizing that there’s going to be moments where the crowd’s going crazy or you get down, they make a run, whatever it may be. We weathered a lot tonight.”

“Even without KD, they’re a great basketball team. And that was a huge test for us, especially in that moment when we’re down six.”

Every play, every game, Hayes said, is as if the Lakers are playing an elimination game. LeBron James said the Lakers don’t have the luxury of looking ahead to a Game 6 or a Game 7. The only game that matters, LeBron James said, is the one in front of them.

Redick worked with James’ trainer Mike Mancias to ensure his 41-year-old star’s durability in the final aughts of the game – the four-time NBA MVP eventually playing a team-high 45 minutes while using any opportunity to sink to the floor for a breather.

James added that if the game is too tight for him to get a slight break on the bench, “then so be it.” Saturday is an off day, he said. So, Friday is what mattered in the moment, for a short-handed team in the early stages of a potentially months-long postseason march.

“We don’t have the luxury of being passive or being complacent,” LeBron James said. “We don’t have the luxury to do that. So our whole mindset is we have to do everything it takes in that particular game and that particular moment, in that particular possession, in order for us to win basketball games, because we don’t have a long leash of error.

“We don’t have a lot (of room) for error.”

James lifted himself from the press conference podium, and loudly ached as he stood above the chair. That’s what 41 sounds like, he told reporters.

Till the final whistle, or James’ final words, leaving Toyota Center on Friday with a controlling advantage en route to a potential second-round showdown with the defending champs, that desperation was evident. And what Redick wanted from his team was clear.

Desperation wins in the playoffs.

NOTES

Houston guard Amen Thompson added 26 points and Sheppard scored 17 on 6-for-21 shooting and seven assists. … The Lakers, Hachimura in particular, used another scorching start to build an early double-digit lead. Hachimura had 16 first-quarter points on 6-for-6 shooting, and he hit a 3-pointer during an 11-0 run that gave the Lakers a 34-23 lead. … The Lakers, who had a 63-52 lead at halftime, shot 57.5% from the field before the break, including 8 for 13 from 3-point range. They had assists on their first 14 field goals of the game and finished with 28 assists on their 38 baskets.