Game 4, Rockets vs. Lakers: How to watch and what to look for

Only 12 teams in NBA playoff history have recovered after going down 3-1 in a series. Houston can avoid that scenario with a win in Game 4.

In NBA playoff history, only 12 teams have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. That’s the predictment the Houston Rockets are hoping not to find themselves in following Thursday’s Game 4 of their second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

With back-to-back wins in Game 2 and Game 3, the LeBron James- and Anthony Davis-led Lakers have shown why they were the top team in the Western Conference by record all season long. In each game, the All-Star forwards combined for 62 points and more than 20 rebounds.

“They’re a good team,” Russell Westbrook said of the Lakers. “Their two main guys live in the paint, and we’ve gotta do a better job of helping and scrambling, and using our quickness to make it tough on them.”

Though this is the first time the Rockets have trailed in a series in the 2020 playoffs, they do have recent experiences upon which to draw. In the 2018 and 2019 playoffs versus Golden State, the Rockets won consecutive games after trailing 2-1 and 2-0 in those series, respectively.

Speaking at Wednesday’s practice, head coach Mike D’Antoni said:

With a veteran team, they understand you don’t get too high after a win, or too low after a loss. You’ve just got to look at the situation. It’s 2-1. The next game is the game we have to win. If it was 2-1 for us, you’ve still got to win two more. We have an opportunity tomorrow to start winning again. You’ve got to look at that only. Those 48 minutes are the most important 48 that we’ve played so far in the postseason.

You don’t think ‘Woe-is-me, we’re down 1-2, and gosh, I don’t know what we’re going to do.’ No, we’re going to come in with swagger, play 48 minutes as hard as we can play, and then see where the chips fall. If we have that attitude and we strike first, last, and in the middle, then we’ll be fine.

For the Rockets, the top priority to bounce back is getting their offense going in high-leverage moments. The Lakers have outscored the Rockets by a combined 20 points over the previous two fourth quarters, which Houston entered either tied or in front before losing both games. On offense, the Rockets have averaged just 18.5 points in those periods.

“They’re a long team and we know that,” Harden said after Game 3. “We know they’ve got length at the rim, but its more [about] us. We can’t play into their strengths, and things that they love to do.”

After scoring just 10 points (26.7% FG) in Game 2, Westbrook rebounded in Game 3 with 30 points (54.2% FG). Meanwhile, co-star James Harden was efficient yet again with 33 points (47.8% FG) and nine assists.

However, neither All-Star guard could get going in the most important moments, as the Lakers again stymied the Rockets with a maze of traps and double-teams once Harden passed halfcourt. LeBron also had four blocks in the game, and his presence was deterrent on drives to the rim.

“We weren’t in attack mode,” Harden said after Game 3. “They did a good job of trapping, and we didn’t make them pay for it.”

Another problem was that the smaller Rockets couldn’t generate their expected “math advantage” from volume 3-point shooting, with the Lakers matching their 30 attempts. Given the size discrepancy, it’s difficult for Houston’s formula to work without a boost from 3-pointers.

One potential solution would be an improved performance from the bench. With Danuel House Jr. out for personal reasons, only one reserve (Jeff Green) scored for the Rockets in Game 3, as the Los Angeles bench outscored their Houston counterparts by a commanding 42-16 margin.

D’Antoni said at Wednesday’s team practice that the Rockets “hadn’t heard yet” whether House would be available for Game 4.

Game 4 between the Rockets and Lakers tips off at 6:00 p.m. Central on Thursday, with a national TV broadcast on TNT.

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