Marcus Smart says Lakers must be willing to run

Marcus Smart is aware of what it seems like to be on the other aspect. The last time the Lakers guard was in the playoffs, he was serving to the Boston Celtics storm back from a three-game deficit in the Eastern Conference finals to pressure a near-historic Game 7.

Now he’s watched the Lakers’ seemingly insurmountable three-games-to-none collection lead dwindle to 3-2 after a 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. Smart isn’t flinching.

Whether defending a three-game lead or coming back from one, Smart is aware of the mindset is the same.

“We really got to literally go out there and be ready to die,” Smart said Wednesday after the Lakers failed to close out the Rockets for the second consecutive recreation. “… When I was on the other end, that was our motto: be willing to run through a wall and sacrifice your body for the betterment of the team. And that’s what we’re going to do now.”

NBA groups are 159-0 with a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff collection. Only 4 have even pushed it to the decisive Game 7. Smart’s 2023 Boston Celtics, when they clawed back against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, misplaced Game 7 at home after star Jayson Tatum turned his ankle on the first play of the sport.

Hoping to keep away from becoming a member of the historic record, the Lakers get a third attempt at vanquishing the Rockets for good in Game 6 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PDT at Houston’s Toyota Center.

“Once we get on that plane and head down to Houston, we got to forget about it and understand what we are going for,” said LeBron James, who had 25 factors and seven assists Friday. “It’s going to be even harder. Every game is hard. It’s so hard to close out a team in the postseason, to win a series, and this is our first time doing it as a unit.”

The Lakers constructed a three-game lead in the collection despite taking part in without main scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves in the first 4 video games. Reaves returned from a Grade 2 left indirect muscle pressure Friday, scoring 22 factors on four-of-16 taking pictures with six assists, but his presence couldn’t stop the gradual decline of the Lakers offense.

The Lakers have failed to attain 100 factors in each of the last two video games. From taking pictures 53.9% from the sphere and 51.7% from three in the first 10 quarters of the collection, they’ve shot just 44.6% from the sphere and 29.2% from three in the last 10, excluding additional time of Game 3.

Luke Kennard, a flamethrower who scored 50 factors in the first two video games, has scored just eight in the last two. He was scoreless from the sphere Wednesday, including two missed three-pointers. A 91.2% free-throw shooter, Kennard even missed a free throw.

On the other hand, Houston has discovered its rhythm. The Rockets made 38.7% of their pictures in the first 10 quarters — Games 1 and 2 and the first half of Game 3 — and have shot 46.3% in the ten quarters since, excluding the Game 3 additional time period. Their three-point taking pictures has jumped from 30.9% to 34.1%.

“We just got to make shots,” Smart said of the offense’s struggles. “… And we’re not giving ourselves a chance by turning the ball over, which we can’t get a shot up on the rim because of that.”

The Lakers had 15 turnovers that resulted in 18 Rockets factors Wednesday. The recreation began slipping away in the second quarter when that they had 5 turnovers with the Rockets scoring 9 factors off the miscues. The Lakers let their 11-point first-quarter lead flip into a four-point halftime deficit.

Smart, who was requested to deal with more ball-handling duties while Doncic and Reaves had been injured, had six turnovers and just two assists Friday. He called them “unacceptable.”

Rockets middle Alperen Sengun yells out for the ball while Lakers guard Marcus Smart pressures the ball hander during Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“The turnovers come in all shapes and sizes, and it’s about limiting them,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And you certainly have to give your guys freedom to make basketball plays. I would say in general though, turnovers of aggression are OK; turnovers of passivity are not.”

The Rockets only averaged 8.5 steals per recreation during the common season, but had two gamers in the NBA’s top 10 in whole steals with guards Reed Sheppard (sixth, 122 whole steals) and Amen Thompson (eighth, 119). They had three and 4 steals, respectively, in Game 5.

A defensive play from Sheppard stifled the Lakers’ late comeback. The Lakers trimmed a 13-point lead to three in less than three minutes. The cheer from the sold-out crowd at Crypto.com Arena was deafening when James kissed a left handed layup off the glass to pull the Lakers to within one possession with 2:59 left.

Sheppard immediately responded with a midrange jumper then picked James’ pocket on the next Lakers possession, going coast-to-coast for a two-handed dunk that pushed the lead back to seven with 2:20 remaining.

The crowd went silent.

The Lakers had that same beautiful impact on a street crowd already this collection when they stormed back from a six-point deficit in less than 30 seconds in Game 3. The prospect of doing it again with even bigger stakes introduced an excited smirk to Smart’s face.

“We knew this was going to be a tough series,” Smart said. “I think everybody knew that, and it’s turning out to be exactly what we expected. And now the fun begins.”