For a second straight game in their second-round playoff series versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets entered the fourth quarter either tied or in front, seemingly with a golden opportunity for a big win. Yet again, they were outscored by double digits in a deflating loss.
In Tuesday’s Game 3, the Rockets scored just 38 points in the second half and were outscored 30-20 in the final quarter, leading to a 112-102 loss (box score). Superstar guards James Harden (33 points, nine assists) and Russell Westbrook (30 points, eight rebounds) each had fine statistical games, but the Rockets again struggled to score at pivotal moments.
“We weren’t in attack mode,” Harden said postgame. “They [the Lakers] did a good job of trapping, and we didn’t make them pay for it.”
Over the decades-long history of the NBA playoffs, the winner of Game 3 in a best-of-seven series that entered tied at 1-1 (as this one did) has gone on to win the series more than 70% of the time.
Another great possession on defense from the Lakers. Morris jumps out as Harden comes off the handoff with Rondo trailing. Watch the switches. Kuzma to Covington, Morris to Green rolling. Morris stops the drive, AD reads it and gets the steal. pic.twitter.com/V5XytOpe8a
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) September 9, 2020
All-Star forwards LeBron James (36 points) and Anthony Davis (26 points, 15 rebounds) led the Lakers in the win, while Rajon Rondo again played very well off the bench with 21 points and nine assists. Rondo made 3-of-5 from 3-point range, including a pair of daggers in the fourth quarter.
“We’d rather Rondo make shots than LeBron and AD,” Harden said. “I feel like we’ve gotta make a conscious effort to contest the shots. And not just allow him to just shoot it with no space.”
Rajon Rondo stayin' ready.
(📺: TNT) pic.twitter.com/gZlxyamxxm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 9, 2020
Head coach Mike D’Antoni said it looked to him as though the Rockets got tired later in the game. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we just ran out of steam there,” D’Antoni said. He continued his comments:
I think our legs got a little tired. Too many 50/50 balls that we didn’t get. Too many times where we weren’t sharp. Tonight, they got us.
It’s 2-1 [in the series]. It’s a marathon, a long battle.
That marathon could be made more complicated by key rotation absences. Danuel House Jr. (personal reasons) didn’t play at all in Game 3, while Robert Covington left early after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face. D’Antoni did not know the status of either player for Game 4.
With House unavailable, only one player — Jeff Green, with 16 points — scored off the Houston bench in Tuesday’s disappointing Game 3. Led by Rondo’s 21 points and 14 from Kyle Kuzma, the Los Angeles bench outscored Houston’s reserves by a decisive 42-16 margin.
As a team, the Rockets attempted only 30 shots from 3-point range — nearly 20 below their playoff average entering the game. The Lakers had an identical 30 attempts. Considering that a “math advantage” of extra 3-pointers was supposed to be a big part of the formula for the smaller Rockets, the inability to get those shots off could be an ominous sign.
Game 4 between the Rockets and Lakers tips off at 6:00 p.m. Central on Thursday, with a national TV broadcast on TNT. The next update on the status of Covington and House will come at Wednesday’s practice.
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