HOUSTON — The shots stopped falling, the passes that worked in Game 4 were turnovers in Game 5, and every loose ball or whistle seemed to go the Lakers’ way.
Two days after one of the most stirring victories in franchise history, the Rockets suffered one of their worst postseason defeats and now face elimination tonight in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series with the Lakers.
“We know it’s time to man-up or else it’s going to be golf time,” said forward Shane Battier, held to five points in Game 5 after scoring 23 in Houston’s 99-87 win Sunday.
The Lakers’ 118-78 victory Tuesday matched Houston’s most lopsided playoff loss. The Rockets say don’t count them out just yet, pointing to their propensity for bouncing back after embarrassing defeats.
Houston dropped 11 games by double-digits during the regular season and won the next game 10 times. The Rockets lost 95-84 to Dallas in their regular-season finale, then beat Portland 108-81 in their playoff opener.
For the Rockets, the team leading after the first quarter has won all 11 of their postseason games.
“That’s a strange stat everybody keeps throwing out there,” coach Rick Adelman said. “I guess we better pay attention to it. That’s very important. We need to get into the game early.”
The Lakers have been criticized for failure to sustain mental toughness throughout the playoff series, and Kobe Bryant said he’ll demand that younger players come out focused.
“Every game, you’ve got to rebuild your momentum,” he said. “It doesn’t carry over. You’ve got to re-establish what you’re trying to do out there.”
Magic looking to extend series
ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard wants the ball more, while Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is telling fans not to panic even though Boston is 32-0 when it takes a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven series.
Howard met with Van Gundy and apologized — but did not retract his statements — after publicly challenging the coach’s strategy in their Game 5 collapse. The center added a bold comment as the Celtics look to close out Orlando in Game 6 tonight.
“We can’t give up hope. . . . We are going to win this series,” Howard said. The Associated Press
