To call Friday’s Game 3 win for the Lakers over the Rockets improbable would be quite the understatement. Down six without the ball and just 30 seconds left, LA somehow forced overtime before coming away with a win that puts them firmly in the driver’s seat in the series.
It’s a win that required a lot of resilience. Even before the final seconds, the Lakers had to withstand a Rockets run throughout the second half to even be within touching distance late.
Then, in the final seconds, they needed a bit
of magic from Marcus Smart before coming up with another late steal to shock Houston. It was all a bit wild and required a lot of belief…
….belief that only existed because it was the playoffs, if you ask a maybe-too-honest Rui.
Look, Rui’s not wrong necessarily, but this is one of those things you don’t admit publicly. I’m pretty sure if head coach JJ Redick saw this clip, it might give him an aneurysm.
In Rui’s defense, there was basically no chance of them winning the game when LeBron missed his 3-pointer with 36.4 seconds left. At that moment, according to ESPN’s win probability chart, the Lakers had a 2.7% chance of winning, which still seems high.
Fortunately, Smart didn’t have quite the same mentality as Rui in that moment.
Jokes aside, the Lakers have been a remarkably resilient bunch this season, both in the big picture and small picture. They’ve battled through injuries all season to even be at this point in the series.
It’s not one of the best teams Lakers fans have seen, but it is one of the most memorable because of that trail alone.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
