Lakers can't close out Rockets series despite Austin Reaves' return
An hour before tip-off of Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, the word came down that Austin Reaves was available to play for the Lakers, his wait over, his time away with a Grade 2 left oblique strain no longer an issue for him.
Reaves missed the first four games of the series against Houston and the last five regular-season games after sustaining the injury in Oklahoma
City on April 2. He checked into the game off the bench with 5 minutes and 39 seconds left in the first quarter to a standing ovation.
Reaves proceeded to give the Lakers a lift, but the Rockets received even more elevated play , their five starters scoring in double figures and their defense on point during Houston's 99-93 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Even with Reaves scoring 22 points and handing out six assists and LeBron James producing 25 points and seven assists, the Lakers couldn't close out this best-of-seven series they once had total command of just a few days ago.
The Lakers have lost the last two games and their once 3-0 lead heading to Houston with their lead down to 3-2.
"I mean, we don't have a lot of time to dwell on it," James said. "I mean, you can give yourself tonight, a little bit tomorrow. But ... once we get on that plane and head down to Houston we got to forget about it and understand what we are going for and it's going to be even harder.
"Every game is hard. It's so hard to close out a team in the postseason, to win a series and this is our first time doing it as a unit. So, we'll see what we got."
For the Rockets, Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and seven rebounds, Tari Eason had 18 points, Amen Thompson finished witn15'points and seven rebounds, Alperen Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Reed Sheppard had 12 points and six assists.
When the Lakers cut the Rockets' 13-point lead to three points, Houston didn't fold this time.
Eason and Sengun both made their free throws to push Houston's lead to nine points.
When Deandre Ayton (18 points, 17 rebounds) scored on a tip-in dunk with 22.3 seconds left to pull the Lakers to within 96-93, the Rockets stood tall. Thompson made a free throw and Smith made two free throws to seal the game.
"They played extremely hard," James said. "They hit some shots today. A few of their guys who haven't made shots in the series so far made some big-time shots tonight. They got contributions out of everybody, both the starters and the bench. Like I said, give credit where credit is due."
Reaves' first play was an assist to Ayton at the 4:57 mark of the first quarter and his first basket was a three-pointer at the 3:39 mark of the first. Reaves drew a foul on Smith 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 Reaves things.
But over the course of his 33 minutes and 42 seconds of time, Reaves grew tired.
That was to be expected. After all, he was injured on April 2 at Oklahoma City, in the same game backcourt mate Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) went down.
"Yeah, I mean I haven't played in a month, unfortunately," said Reaves, who was four-for-16 from the field. "I wish I could, you know, get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that. But like I said, I had a lot of fun out there and just trust myself and trust the work that I've put in.
"But it's hard to emulate real basketball reps, even if you're doing it - practice, stay-ready (games), whatever it might be - so it's really hard to get that same feel. So yeah, I mean, got a little tired in the second half, but something I gotta push through. I don't have the liberty to play a couple warm-up games. I just get tossed back in the fire on Friday and hopefully we'll have a better result."
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, the key was making sure Reaves was able to play without any concerns and not to rush him back.
"He's a dynamic player. His ability to get into the paint. His ability to get to the free-throw line," James said. "Obviously, it was his first game in a month, so a few of his jump shots were short. It makes sense. He hasn't played in a month. So, he gives us another ballhandler, a threat at the point of attack, so that's great for our team."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 6:57 PM.