Lakers can't close out Rockets series when Austin Reaves returns
An hour before tip-off of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against Houston, the word came down that Austin Reaves was available to play for the Lakers, his wait over, his time away with Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain no longer an issue.
Reaves missed the first four games of the series and the last five regular-season games since sustaining the injury on April 2 in Oklahoma City. He checked into the game off the bench with 5 minutes and 39 seconds left in the first quarter to a standing ovation.
His first play was an assist to Deandre Ayton at the 4:57 mark and his first basket was a three-pointer with 3:39 left in the first. Reaves drew a foul on Jabari Smith Jr. while shooting a three-pointer at the 1:41 mark and he made all three of his free throws.
Yes, Reaves was back and doing things Reaves does.
But that was not enough for the Lakers to overcome the force of a Rockets team that had their five starters to score in double figures to push Houston to a 99-93 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers are now in a 3-2 series they once led 3-0 , with Game 6 on Friday night in Houston.
The Lakers can still eliminate the Rockets, but they will have to play all-out to get it done.
Reaves finished with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds. LeBron James led the Lakers with 25 points and seven assists.
For the Rockers, Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and seven rebounds, Tari Eason had 18 points, Amen Thompson contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, Alperen Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Reed Sheppard had 1 points and six assists.
The Lakers were down by 13 points early in the fourth quarter, but got to within 92-87 on a James basket.
Then Reaves took a charge on Eason that the Rockets challenged with 1:42 left. The Rockets won the challenge and Eason was awarded two free throws. He made both for a seven-point Rockets lead.
After Reaves missed a three-pointer, Sengun got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws for a nine-point Rockets lead with 1:32 left.
Two free throws by Reaves and a tip dunk by Deande Ayton got the Lakers back to within 96-93.
But Thompson made one of two free throws, James missed a three-pointer and Smith made two free throws with 11.9 seconds left to seal the game, putting the Lakers in a six-point hole.
Reaves was injured on April 2 at Oklahoma City, in the same game backcourt mate Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) went down.
Slowly, Reaves began to work his way back to play, even being listed as questionable for Games 3 and 4 before he was downgraded to out.
Even though the Lakers opened a 3-0 lead in the series and then a 3-1 lead, the key was making sure Reaves was able to play without any concerns and not to rush him back.
"And I told Austin that," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "I said, ‘Let's take the context of the series out of it. Because if you're not confident, you shouldn't play. If you are confident, you should play.' It's that simple."
His play in the first half proved Reaves was ready.
He had 11 points, six assists and two rebounds in 15 minutes of action in the first half. He was three-for-six shooting from the field and two for three from three-point range.
Reaves started the second half for the Lakers in place of Luke Kennard.
When Redick was asked after practice Tuesday why it's so hard to close out a series, he was succinct with his answer.
"Well, you have to kill them," Redick said. "It's difficult to kill someone. You've got to … again, survival instincts says, ‘I want to stay alive.' And so, you got to be able to kill them. That's what [it takes]."
_______
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 1:42 AM.