Sloppy start fatal as Rockets eliminated by Lakers in Game 5

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

In 2015, the Houston Rockets were down 3-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series to the Los Angeles Clippers, led by future teammate Chris Paul. In a series dominated by the flashy Lob City style of basketball, the Rockets had their backs against the wall heading into a pivotal Game 5 that would either make or break their season. What they next did would go down in Rockets' history as one of the greatest comebacks of all time -- after blowing out the Clippers in Game 5, they would claw all the way back from the brink of elimination in Game 6, before taking the series at home in a heartfelt Game 7. It was the ninth time such a comeback had ever happened in the N.B.A., and the second time the Rockets had ever come back in a playoff series down 3-1, the first dating all the way back to the legendary 1995 Hakeem Olajuwon-led Rockets, who came back down 3-1 against the Phoenix Suns during their eventual sprint to a championship.

Five years later, the Rockets found themselves in a similar situation, this time against the Los Angeles Lakers, led by the timeless LeBron James and the generational big-man Anthony Davis. This time, however, the Rockets would fold against the pressure, bowing to the Lakers and bowing out of the playoffs in a 119-96 loss in Game 5.

Like they had done so often in the series, the Rockets got off to a slow start and never was able to recover. The first quarter saw them get outscored 17-4 in the first five minutes, and 35-20 by the quarter's end. LeBron had eleven of those points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope poured in eight of his own. James Harden scored seven points early, but essentially none of his teammates were able to get their shots to fall consistently. P.J. Tucker, who had been so reliable throughout the playoffs, went 0-4 in the game's first three minutes.

Houston went on an 8-0 run to begin the second quarter, cutting the deficit to seven en route to a 31 point quarter. Harden did everything he could to keep Houston in the game, dropping 12 more points in the second quarter to bring his total to 19 at the half on an efficient 7-11 shooting. Houston, however, still found themselves trailing by 11 heading into the break.

Looking to get off to a hot start to cut the deficit to a manageable number in the third, the Rockets instead did the exact opposite. Houston found themselves again outscored by 15 in the quarter, allowing a 33-18 run by L.A. to balloon their lead to 95-69 heading into the final frame of Game 5. Through three quarters, the Rockets were shooting only a measly 40% from the field, a far cry from the Lakers' 59% from the field and 55% from three.

The Rockets essentially gave up in the fourth, despite Harden playing 42 minutes in what would be his final game of the season. His last game of 2020 saw him record 30 points on an effective 12-20 shooting from the field, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. His performance was the only inspiring one in a game that saw only two other Rockets barely record double digit points, one of which was Jeff Green, who recorded the team's second highest point total at 13. He played 24 minutes and went 3-9.

It's another disappointing end to a season that began with a ton of promise with the addition of Russell Westbrook, who himself was injured and wildly ineffective throughout the duration of this year's playoffs. Houston will head into an offseason with a ton of questions surrounding personnel and staff alike, with no easy answers present in the moment.