HOUSTON — Deandre Ayton had every right to be aggrieved if he wanted to be.
The Lakers’ center had been ejected midway through Game 4 against the Houston Rockets, leaving a 19-point and 10-rebound double-double effort on the table as the Lakers stumbled to a 115-96 defeat, sending Game 5 back to Los Angeles.
The 7-footer could have held the ejection as extra weight on his shoulders, a slipped elbow to Rockets center Alperen Sengun’s face leaving Ayton with a Flagrant Foul 2. It was the first time he’d been ejected from the floor in his NBA career.
The anger Ayton said he felt, the displeasure of Sunday’s result, appeared to come more from the fact that the Lakers have provided the Rockets a chance – a sliver of hope that they could become the first team down 3-0 in a playoff series to advance with four consecutive victories.
“Tonight definitely didn’t make us feel comfortable,” Ayton said. “Pretty angry. I’m pretty angry. Honestly, I wish we could play tomorrow. I have a lot of energy now.”
“I’m licking my chops, licking my chops,” Ayton added. “I’ve been here before. This was supposed to be an elimination game, but I love that the crowd brought the energy and it was perfect. We just got to try to end this at home. But I love the intensity. I love the fight I see in the guys in the Rockets. I can’t wait to see them.”
Ayton’s tone seemed to bleed into what much of the Lakers roster generated Sunday postgame.
There wasn’t a clear sulk or heartbreak.
Lakers coach JJ Redick pulled his starters during the fourth quarter as the Rockets’ lead grew to 20-plus points. Game 4 was a clean break, an opportunity for reset and refocus. The Lakers know what they’ll need to accomplish heading into Game 5 at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
“It’s not gonna get easier,” Smart said of the Rockets, who came back from 3-1 down in the first round last year to force a Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors. “We understand that, but we’ve played this team, we’ve played four games now. The first three, you know, we did very well, so we understand we’re going to continue to stay poised.”
If anything, if Game 5 falls to the Lakers’ favor, Sunday could represent no more than an anomaly in the dataset.
Twenty-three turnovers were the most Lakers tallied in a game since February, their second-most in a game this season. The Lakers’ turnovers percentage, an estimate of turnovers per 100 possessions, was the highest of the season at 21.9%. Their 102.0 offensive rating, points scored team-wide per 100 possessions, would have been a bottom 10 result for the entirety of the campaign.
For all the talk for what Redick said decides playoff games – “The desperate team normally wins in the playoffs,” the Lakers coach said before Game 3 – the Rockets played desperately Sunday, knowing that they didn’t just want a Game 4 win. Houston needed the victory for any chance at survival.
As Rockets forward Tari Eason told reporters Sunday night, every day and game is an opportunity. Every moment is win-or-go-home going forward for Houston.
When asked if desperation would swing back in the Lakers’ favor, as they’d shown through three consecutive wins to start the series, Redick expressed optimism that it would.
“Yeah, you certainly hope so,” Redick said.
Is there room for being comfortable, even when leading the series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night?
Just ask LeBron James, the guy who led the Cleveland Cavaliers from 3-1 down to win the 2016 NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors a decade ago, the first team in NBA history to do so.
“Oh, hell no – no,” James said. “There’s no such thing as being comfortable until a series is done. No. None of us are (comfortable).”