LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are halfway to creating history for the wrong reasons with the Houston Rockets refusing to go away in their Western Conference first-round series.
The Rockets won Game Five 99-93 on Wednesday night to trim the Lakers’ lead to 3-2, having been 3-0 down. No team has ever come back from 3-0 down to win an NBA play-off series.
The teams now head back to Houston for Game Six tomorrow night with James and his team starting to feel a little pressure.
“Listen, it’s one game,” James said. “You give credit where credit is due. They played well the last two games, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer the call.”
James scored 25 points and added seven assists but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets got 22 points from Jabari Smith Jr, 18 from Tari Eason and 14, along with nine rebounds and eight assists, from Alperen Sengun.
“We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history and come back one game at a time,” Sengun said. “Play at home, come back here, just do the same thing we’re doing.”
Sengun and James were also involved in a verbal spat. James took offence to Sengun claiming the Lakers had been given a “soft a** foul”, and went off while waiting to shoot from the free-throw line.
James said: ”You said soft a** call? Not you, anybody else on y’all roster but not you! You don’t say that! Soft a** tall guy,” he said.
Schroder stars for the Cavaliers
Dennis Schroder led from the front as the Cleveland Cavaliers hit back in the final quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-120 and edge 3-2 ahead.
The 32-year-old, who joined the Cavs in February, delivered a rallying cry in the locker room at half-time and then scored 11 of his 19 points in the final quarter to get the Cavs over the line.
“We needed to win this game,” Schroder said. “It’s all about momentum. They had the momentum going into Game 5 because they won two in a row. We played in front of our fans and we didn’t play how we should play.
“I felt like I had to say something to the group, so we can rise and go play Cavs basketball and play to our standards. I love big games. I love the playoffs. I think every player is working for that moment.”
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson was full of praise for the 32-year-old. He said: “When we were talking about trading for [Schroder], that was one of the things that came up: This guy has played in huge games in the NBA and then on the international scene. This type of game fits him.
“He was, as we like to call him, Dennis the menace tonight.”
Game Six is in Toronto tomorrow night.
Cunningham and Banchero serve up classic
Cade Cunningham poured in 45 points as the Detroit Pistons remained alive thanks to a 116-109 win over the Orlando Magic.
Cunningham and the Magic’s Paolo Banchero, who also scored 45 points, traded blows all night.
“In the heat of the moment, you’re not really thinking about it,” Banchero said. “You’re just thinking about getting the win. But sure, one day [I’ll] look back and be like, ‘That was a hell of a game.’ But me and him have been going at it since AAU days. So no surprise there that happened.”
Game Six is in Orlando and Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said his players will give it everything to force a decider.
“We come out swinging, we come out kicking, we come out scratching, biting, clawing, whatever’s necessary to get it done,” he said. “And that spirit carries over. And the want to not let your teammate down carries over.”
