Lakers fail to dismantle Rockets
LOS ANGELES, United States — The Los Angeles Lakers again failed to close out their series with Houston on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).
Jabari Smith Jr.'s 22 points helped the Houston Rockets grind out a gritty 99-93 win to bring their series with the Los Angeles Lakers back to 3-2.
The Lakers had led 3-0, but now face a tricky trip to Texas for Game 6.
The return of key offensive contributor Austin Reaves after nine games out with an oblique injury had boosted the Lakers, who got off to a bright first quarter on Wednesday.
But the Rockets — who were again without star forward Kevin Durant with an ankle issue — shot ahead, building a 13-point advantage midway through the final quarter.
A LeBron James driving layup reduced the deficit to single digits with five minutes remaining, pumping up the home crowd.
But it was not to be for the Lakers. Another loss in Houston on Friday would put the Lakers at risk of becoming the first team in history to blow a 3-0 lead in a playoff series.
Veteran 41-year-old superstar James top-scored on the night with 25 points, continuing his remarkable post-season form, but failed to score any of his 3-pointer efforts.
"We just couldn't make shots," said Lakers coach JJ Redick.
"Missed some layups, certainly had some good looks for three that didn't go down. But we'll take a look at the whole process."
Cavaliers on verge of ousting Raptors
The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off an impressive comeback victory to take a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Raptors.
Cleveland secured a fifth straight win for the home team in their series against Toronto to take a 3-2 lead.
Having twice trailed by 12 points, Cleveland powered back in the second half with a much stronger defensive performance to win 125-120.
Evan Mobley led the rally with 10 points in the third quarter, while Dennis Schroder added 19 off the bench.
The result means all four Eastern Conference first-round playoff series now stand at 3-2.
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