Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka delivered a blunt assessment after his team’s 112-108 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Toyota Center, a defeat that left Houston down 3-0 in the series.
“Horrendous mistakes,” Udoka said when asked about what he saw as the main reason why the game fell apart in the end.
Houston held a six-point lead with under 30 seconds left in regulation before a sequence of turnovers and fouls shifted control to Los Angeles.
“You have a six-point lead with 20 or 30 seconds to go, get a rebound, and just have to hold the ball and get fouled,” Udoka said. “It’s basically a one-on-one, throw it away, make it worse, foul.”
The Rockets’ late-game execution unraveled across multiple possessions, according to Udoka. “A terrible foul on Marcus Smart to give him three free throws. Next play, backcourt, you got it. Double’s coming,” he said.
Udoka also pointed to a critical possession breakdown in the halfcourt. “You try to split it instead of throwing it to Alpi wide open. Another turnover,” he said, referring to Alperen Sengun.
On the final designed play, Houston failed to execute the call. “The elbow isolation for Alperen, and on that read turnover,” Udoka said. “We don’t run what was drawn up. All the above.”
Despite the collapse, Udoka said the team had chances to manage the game differently late. “Go get the ball. You’re the point guard. He was drifting away when the turnover happened. Make the simple play,” he said.
Houston had built multiple advantages during the game but could not close. “We still had a chance and did well enough to build that six-point lead,” Udoka said. “That’s good enough to win.”
He also rejected the idea that bench production was the decisive factor. “Yeah, it was there. We didn’t have a ton,” Udoka said. “But we had enough to get it regardless of what the bench was doing.”
Defensively, Udoka noted the Rockets had periods of control before the late collapse. “They scored 24 in the second, 17 in the third, and 15 in the fourth until that last six points,” he said. “That’s good enough to win.”
Kevin Durant did not play and remained away from the bench for treatment, while Houston continues to manage injuries during the series.
Udoka acknowledged that mistakes in late-game situations have been a recurring issue. “It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” he said. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious and you can’t have those.”
Reed Sheppard’s performance was also addressed, with Udoka emphasizing confidence despite inefficiency. “He missed shots. We need that, the threat was there,” he said.
With Houston now facing elimination pressure, Udoka kept the focus on urgency for Game 4. “We got one more,” he said. “Now you got to go get one on Sunday and don’t let this one beat you twice.”
Udoka also pointed to broader execution themes as the deciding factor moving forward. “Make or miss. Still had the lead. Still had opportunity,” he said. “But you can’t have those mistakes.”