LOS ANGELES LAKERS 112, HOUSTON ROCKETS 108 (OT) What Alperen Sengun Did Was Not Enough, and That Is Genuinely Sad
LOS ANGELES LAKERS 112, HOUSTON ROCKETS 108 (OT)
Series: Lakers Lead 3-0
What Alperen Sengun Did Was Not Enough, and That Is Genuinely Sad
Alperen Sengun posted 33 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists. He converted 15 of 27 field goal attempts and commanded the paint in a way that had Los Angeles scrambling all night. It is one of the most dominant individual performances of this entire playoff round — and his team still lost.
Why? Because the Lakers had LeBron James (29 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists) and Marcus Smart. Smart’s double-double of 21 points and 10 assists, paired with 5 steals and an inexplicable 75.9% true shooting percentage, was the kind of performance that changes game outcomes. Smart hit two of his four three-point attempts, drew 7 fouls, and simply refused to let Houston put this game away when it mattered most.
Amen Thompson put up a brilliant 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. hit 6 of 10 three-point attempts for 24 points. Houston had 15 steals to Los Angeles’ 12, and the Rockets entered overtime with every reason to believe they could pull off the upset.
LeBron’s Turnover Problem and Why It Didn’t Matter
LeBron James committed 8 turnovers. Against a team averaging 15 steals in this game, that is a frightening statistic. Houston converted those turnovers into 17 points off turnovers for the game. At multiple points, the Rockets seemed poised to deliver what would have been a series-altering home win.
But LeBron scored 29 points on 45.5% shooting, hit 4 of 9 from three-point range, pulled down 13 rebounds, and delivered in overtime when it counted. Rui Hachimura added 22 points on 57.1% shooting from both the field and three-point range, and Jaxson Hayes provided 12 crucial points off the bench.
The math of this game was strange: Houston shot better from the field in regulation. Houston had more steals. Houston had the better individual performance from its center. And Los Angeles won.
That is what a team with playoff experience and a 3-0 series lead does — it finds a way to survive nights it probably should not, then uses that survival to demoralize the opponent.
The Three-Point Shooting Divide
Los Angeles hit 41.4% of its three-point attempts (12-of-29). Houston hit 28.2% (11-of-39). That 13-percentage-point gap from beyond the arc is the difference between overtime heartbreak and a series-tying victory. Houston is throwing bodies at three-point shots and not getting the results it needs to keep pace with a Lakers team that now sits one win away from the second round.
