After blowing the opportunity to end the series in Game 5, the Lakers, on one day’s rest, came out determined to end the young and hungry Houston’s season Friday night.
With a Game 7 looming, a Lakers defensive masterclass combined with offensive ineptitude from Houston led to just 31 first-half points for the Rockets, giving LA an 18-point halftime advantage en route to a Game 6 win to end series.
Coming into the playoffs, who won the center matchup between Deandre Ayton and All-Star Alperen Şengün
was highlighted as a defining indicator of which team would hold the advantage. Ayton came to LA preaching his renewed focus on defense over offense, and, as he’s done all series, showed it once again Friday night.
After sending double teams at Şengün in Game 5, the purple and gold went back to single coverage with Ayton. LA’s big man moved his feet, stonewalling Şengün and contesting high without fouling to shut off Houston’s main offensive engine.
As the lead initiator with Kevin Durant out, Şengün had a series-high eight assists in Game 5. It was much different in Game 6, where the single coverage forced him into just one assist and four turnovers on 5-12 shooting.
Houston runs Şengün in more than just straight post-up actions. The Reed Sheppard-Şengün pick and roll had given the Lakers some issues in previous games.
Watch below as Ayton “shows”— meets the ballhandler at the level of the screen and gives the guard defender Austin Reaves time to recover — and returns to match up with Şengün on the low block. His hands were high, ready to contest, pinning the big man under the basket and forcing an ill-advised behind-the-back pass for a turnover.
A few possessions later, with Houston threatening a second quarter run, they isolated Şengün at the free-throw line extended. Watch as Ayton absorbs three separate body bumps and a ball fake, then extends a contest to get a block on the fade-away attempt.
To start the third, Şengün looked to attack with a head of steam. He catches it on the trail from Amen Thompson and prepares for his patented spin move at the basket. Ayton keeps his position, doesn’t bite on the pump fake and contests the jump hook while cleaning the defensive glass.
“[Ayton] played his ass off tonight,” Marcus Smart said postgame. “He was locked in from the start to the finish. He kept his composure and he really set the tone for us on that defensive end. It allowed me to do what I do and everyone else to kind of galvanize and come together and do our thing.”
That composure held Şengün, a 52% shooter from the field in the regular season, to just 46% for the series and 28 assists to 18 turnovers.
Backup center Jaxson Hayes struggled mightily in this series, unable to stay on the floor with consistent fouls. The center production was entirely in Ayton’s hands. His minutes jumped up in this series as a result, while he was anchoring a defense that held the Rockets to a bottom-five offense in the playoffs.
The Lakers were underdogs in every game they won this series and the Thunder will be heavy favorites in the next round. No matter how that matchup goes, within all the criticism, Ayton came through when they needed it the most.
As promised to begin the year, he was content going without offensive touches, having only six shots in 28 minutes, and shut down Şengün to give the Lakers their first playoff series win in three years.
You can follow Raj on X at @RajChipalu
