The Lakers offensive woes continued at home.
The Los Angeles Lakers came into Wednesday night looking to close out the Houston Rockets and advance to the second round.
Instead, they walked off their own home floor at Crypto.com Arena with a 99-93 loss that has now given Houston all the momentum in this first-round series.
The Rockets, who trailed 3-0 just days ago, have rattled off back-to-back wins and pushed this thing to a Game 6 back in Houston on Friday.
The Lakers finished the regular season 53-29 while Houston went 52-30, and the closeness of those records is starting to show up in the actual games now that the Rockets have found their footing.
Redick on the Shooting Struggles
After the loss, head coach JJ Redick gave credit where it was due but also pointed to Los Angeles' inability to knock down open looks as the biggest factor in the defeat.
"You gotta give them a lot of credit. They made shots, including some guys who normally don't make 3s," Redick said. "Our defense, you hope 99 is enough to win, and we just couldn't make shots. Missed some layups. Certainly had some good looks from 3 that didn't go down. But we'll take a look at the whole process, take a look at the substitution patterns and figure out where we can be better in Game 6."
The numbers backed up every word.
The Lakers went just 7-for-27 from three-point range and were an ugly 1-for-10 from deep in the fourth quarter alone.
LeBron James finished with 25 points and seven assists but shot 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, and Luke Kennard managed just one point after combining for 64 in the first three games of the series.
Meanwhile, Houston hit 14 threes on the night, nearly doubling the Lakers' output from that range.
Houston's Young Core Steps Up Again
Jabari Smith Jr. was the best player on the floor for the Rockets with 22 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting, including four made threes.
Tari Eason added 18 points and all five Houston starters finished in double figures.
The Rockets have done all of this without Kevin Durant, who has missed four of the five games in the series with ankle problems.
Can the Lakers Still Close This Out?
Austin Reaves returned to the lineup after missing time with a strained oblique and gave the Lakers a spark with some early scoring and playmaking, but it was not nearly enough once the shots stopped falling.
The Lakers built an early 10-point lead in the first quarter and watched it disappear as Houston's defense tightened and their shooters heated up in the second half.
No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and the Lakers still hold the advantage at 3-2.
But losing at home in a close-out game is hard to shake off, especially with a loud Toyota Center crowd waiting on Friday.
Redick mentioned looking at substitution patterns and the full process, which means rotational changes could be on the table for Game 6.