After Yao Ming left game 3 with a foot injury the Rockets looked out of sorts and could do nothing to stop the Lakers who went on to win the game comfortably. Once it was discovered that Yao would miss the remainder of the playoffs everyone, including me, counted the Rockets out and figured the series was over.
It seems the Rockets didn't get the message that they were supposed to roll over as today they beat the Lakers like they owed them money winning 99-87. The score itself doesn't go the game justice as the Lakers were trailing by double digits for the entire game starting at 5:37 in the 1st quarter. The lead even ballooned to 29 at one point as the Lakers couldn't play defense or get anything going on offense.
The Rockets were lead by Aaron Brooks who scored a career-high 34 points as well as Shane Battier who hit 5 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Luis Scola had a double double and played solid defense the whole game and even went at Derek Fisher a little bit early in the game.
The big reason the Rockets won though was because they actually tried. The Lakers obviously took the Rockets lightly and thought that without Yao in the lineup they could roll to an easy victory. This was made clear by the way that they started the game. On their first possession they turned the ball over and allowed the Rockets to take the early lead. A 22-7 run would ensure helped by poor shooting and turnovers by the Lakers.
The scoring play right at halftime best symbolizes the game. With .07 seconds left Ron Artest launched an inbound pass from half court that found Aaron Brooks all alone underneath the basket. Brooks proceeded to alley-oop the ball and score right before time ran out. No Laker was within 5 feet of Brooks as they all watched in shock as Brooks scored what I'm sure will be the Highlight of the Night on Sportscenter.
For a team that many believed would walk to the NBA Finals the Lakers have been underwhelming. They often look lost on offense and their inability to play defense is going to be a huge problem against LeBron and the Cavs...if they ever make it that far.
I still think that the Lakers are going to get past the Rockets as this game should motivate them as they were thoroughly embarrassed. However if they want to accomplish that feat they are going to need to learn how to play defense and contest shots. In today's game there were far too many open jump shots for the Rockets as often no one on the Lakers even bothered to come out and put a hand up.
The next game in the series will take place on Tuesday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where hopefully Kobe and the Lakers can get back on track. It's not that I am a Lakers fan but I really want to see a Lakers vs Cavs final. Nothing better than watching the two best players in the world go head to head. However if this is going to happen Phil Jackson needs to make sure that his team doesn't shit the bed again.
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