LeBron James is involved in a verbal spat as the Lakers feel the heat after the Rockets win again
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of making history for the wrong reasons as the Houston Rockets refused to drop their Western Conference first round series.
The Rockets won Game Five 99-93 on Wednesday night to drop the Lakers to 3-2, a 3-0 deficit. No team has ever come back from 3-0 down to win an NBA play-off series.
The teams now return to Houston for Game Six tomorrow night when James and his team begin to feel a little pressure.
“Listen, one game,” James said. “He lends when he has to. They played well the last two games, very well, and we have to answer the call.”
James scored 25 points and added seven assists but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets got 22 points from Jabari Smith Jr, 18 from Tari Eason and 14, along with nine rebounds and eight assists, from Alperen Sengun.
“We put ourselves in a bad place, but we can still make history and come back one game at a time,” said Sengun. “Play at home, come back here, just do what we do.”
Senun and James also quarreled with each other. James upset Sengun saying the Lakers were given a “soft a** foul”, and left while waiting to shoot from the free throw line.
James said: “You mean a soft call? Not you, anyone else on your list but not you! You don’t mean that! A soft** guy,” he said.
Schroder stars for the Cavaliers
Dennis Schroder led the way as the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back in the final quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-120 and end up 3-2 ahead.
The 32-year-old, who joined the Cavs in February, broke down in the locker room at halftime and scored 11 of his 19 points in the final quarter to lead the Cavs over the line.
“We needed to win this game,” Schroder said. “It’s all about momentum. They had momentum in Game 5 because they won twice in a row. We played in front of our fans and we didn’t play the way we should have played.
“I felt like I had to say something to the team, so we can get up and play Cavs basketball and play at our level. I love the big games. I love the playoffs. I think every player works for that moment.”
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson was full of praise for the 32-year-old. He said: “When we talked about selling [Schroder]that was one of the things that came out: This guy played big games in the NBA and also played internationally. This type of game suits him.
“He was, as we like to call him, Dennis the menace of the evening.”
Game six is ​​in Toronto tomorrow night.
Cunningham and Banchero serve up classics
Cade Cunningham poured in 45 points as the Detroit Pistons survived a 116-109 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Cunningham and the Magic’s Paolo Banchero, who also scored 45 points, traded blows all night.
“In the heat of the moment, you don’t really think about it,” Banchero said. “You only think about winning, but for sure, one day [I’ll] look back and be like, ‘That was a hell of a game.’ But he and I have been doing it since the AAU days. So it’s not surprising what happened.”
Game Six is ​​in Orlando and Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said his players will give everything to force who will decide.
“We go out swinging, we go out kicking, we go out scratching, biting, clawing, whatever it takes to make it happen,” he said. “And that spirit continues. And wanting not to let your teammates down continues.”
