Lakers, up close

The Lakers just couldn’t grab it, again, and now the series shifts back to Houston for Game 6. Lakers has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in Saudi Arabia.

Key facts

• The Lakers just couldn’t grab it, again, and now the series shifts back to Houston for Game 6.
• LeBron James and the Lakers will be heading back to Houston for a Game 6 against the Rockets.
• With emotions peaking, tempers flared in the fourth quarter of Game 5, which the Rockets won 99-93, trimming the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2.
• The Houston Rockets stayed alive in their playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers, posting a 99-93 victory Wednesday that sent the Western Conference series to Game 6 on Friday in Houston.
• James, who in the Game 4 loss scored 10 points and tied his career-playoff low with two field goals, led the Lakers with 25 points and added seven assists.

What we know

Going deeper, LeBron James and the Lakers will be heading back to Houston for a Game 6 against the Rockets.

On the substance, With emotions peaking, tempers flared in the fourth quarter of Game 5, which the Rockets won 99-93, trimming the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2.

Beyond the headlines, the Houston Rockets stayed alive in their playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers, posting a 99-93 victory Wednesday that sent the Western Conference series to Game 6 on Friday in Houston.

More precisely, James, who in the Game 4 loss scored 10 points and tied his career-playoff low with two field goals, led the Lakers with 25 points and added seven assists.

It is worth noting that James missed two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds as the Lakers desperately tried to pull even, and was 0 for 6 from beyond the arc.

By the numbers

At this stage, In his 2026 postseason debut, he was the Lakers’ first substitute and finished with 22 points.

On a related note, Marcus Smart, who made so many big plays in the first three games of the series, made far too many bad ones Wednesday, finishing with six of the Lakers’ 15 turnovers.

Going deeper, James, who had 16 turnovers combined in Games 3 and 4, got stripped at midcourt by Sheppard inside the final three minutes to snuff out what was left of a Lakers’ comeback. — Dan Woike, Lakers writer.

On the substance, the Lakers getting Reaves back after 27 days out with an oblique injury should have been good news, right?

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The wider context

On a related note, more importantly, Houston outscored the Lakers by five points in his 34 minutes in a game it won 99-93.

Going deeper, since the Houston Rockets mounted a gritty comeback in the series, the Los Angeles Lakers are on edge.

On the substance, what looked like a potential Lakers sweep after jumping to a 3-0 lead is now a high-stakes dogfight.

Beyond the headlines, the Lakers got good news before the game when Austin Reaves, who had been sidelined by an oblique injury, was ruled fit to play.

More precisely, the Lakers chipped away, and James cut the deficit to three with a soaring left-handed layup that brought Crypto.com Arena to life.

The bottom line

• The Houston Rockets stayed alive in their playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers, posting a 99-93 victory Wednesday that sent the Western Conference series to Game 6 on Friday in Houston.
• The Lakers getting Reaves back after 27 days out with an oblique injury should have been good news, right?
• More importantly, Houston outscored the Lakers by five points in his 34 minutes in a game it won 99-93.