Lakers can’t close out Rockets series despite Austin Reaves’ return

An hour before the start of Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, news broke that Austin Reaves was available to play for the Lakers, his wait over, his oblique strain no longer an issue.

Reaves, out since April 2 with teammate Luka Doncic, had missed the first four games of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series. He entered Wednesday night’s game from the bench with 5 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first quarter to a standing ovation from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena.

Reaves gave the Lakers a boost, but the Rockets received even higher play despite the absence of Kevin Durant, all five of their starters scoring in double figures and their point defense in Houston’s 99-93 victory, which cut the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2.

Even with Reaves scoring 22 points and dishing out six assists, and LeBron James producing 25 points and seven assists, the Lakers couldn’t close out this series they had complete control of just a few days ago.

Lakers forward LeBron James attempts a shot under pressure from Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) and center Alperen Sengun (28) during Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers have lost the last two games and head to Houston with a complete reset.

“We don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it,” James said. “You can give yourself tonight, a little tomorrow. But… once we get on that plane and head to Houston, we have to forget about that and figure out what we want and it’s going to be even harder.

“Every game is tough. It’s so tough to close out a team in the playoffs, to win a series, and this is the first time we’ve done it as a unit. So we’ll see what we have.”

For the Rockets, Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and seven rebounds, Tari Eason had 18 points, Amen Thompson finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, Alperen Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Reed Sheppard had 12 points and six assists, including four straight points late in the fourth quarter after the Lakers cut the Rockets’ 13-point lead to 88-85.

Houston didn’t fold this time. The Rockets successfully contested an offensive foul, and Eason and Sengun both made free throws around a missed three by Reaves to cut Houston’s lead to nine points with 1:32 to play.

When Deandre Ayton (18 points, 17 rebounds) scored on a dunk with 22.3 seconds remaining to bring the Lakers within 96-93, the Rockets held on. Thompson made a free throw and Smith made two more to seal the game.

“They played extremely hard,” James said. “They made some shots today. A few of their guys who hadn’t made any shots in the series so far made some big shots tonight. They got contributions from everyone, both the starters and the bench. Like I said, give credit where credit is due.”

Reaves’ first play was an assist to Ayton with about five minutes left in the first quarter, and his first basket was a three-pointer with 3:59 left. Reaves fouled Smith shooting a three at 1:41 and made all three free throws.

Yes, Reaves was back and doing things with Reaves.

But after nearly 34 minutes, Reaves tired.

It was to be expected. After all, he hadn’t played a game since April 2 in Oklahoma City, the same game in which Doncic went down with a hamstring strain. There is still no timetable for his return.

“I haven’t played in a month, unfortunately,” said Reaves, who scored four of 16 from the field but 12 of 13 from the line. “I wish I could, you know, have a little more rhythm before I jumped into the fire like that. But like I said, I had a lot of fun out there and I just feel confident in myself and the work that I’ve done.

“But it’s hard to imitate real basketball representatives, even if you do: practice, stay ready. [games]anyway – so it’s really hard to get the same feeling. So yeah, I mean, I’m a little tired in the second half, but I have to overcome something. I don’t have the freedom to play a few warm-up games. I just found myself in the heat on Friday and I hope we have a better result.

With the Lakers opening up a 3-0 series lead, the key was making sure Reaves was able to play without any worries and not rushing him.

“He’s a dynamic player. His ability to get in the box. His ability to get to the free throw line,” James said. “Obviously it was his first game in a month, so a few of his jump shots were short. That makes sense. He hasn’t played in a month. So he gives us another ball handler, a threat at the point of attack, so it’s great for our team.”