Lakers Return The Favor

LA takes 3-2 series lead after delivering dominant performance in Game 5

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Los Angeles - Shorthanded and subsequently forced to compete using unconventional methods, the Rockets knew two things heading into their pivotal Game 5 match-up with the Lakers: They had to stay out of foul trouble and they needed to hit threes. Unfortunately, Houston was able to do neither Tuesday night and, as a result, the Rockets succumbed to their most lopsided postseason defeat in franchise history, falling to the Lakers 118-78 (the 40-point differential matched that suffered at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks May 7, 2005).

Of far more importance than the final margin, however, is that LA’s win means the Lakers now own a 3-2 series lead over Houston heading into Thursday’s all-important Game 6. The Rockets, resilient all season, promised fans would see a completely different team two days from now.

“There won’t be any carry over,” said Carl Landry after the game. “You won’t see anything like this in two days. We’ll be ready. We know if we don’t win we go home so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

The Rockets actually got off to a promising start Tuesday night, hitting six of their first nine shots on the way to seizing an early 13-6 lead. But shortly thereafter, Chuck Hayes – Houston’s plus/minus leader by a significant margin in this series – picked up his second foul, forcing him to the bench and leaving the Rockets extremely vulnerable along the interior. The Lakers immediately pounced on the opportunity afforded to them, sprinting off to a 32-9 run while Hayes watched helplessly from the sidelines.

“Chuck fouled early and that hurt us because right now we have no room for error,” said Ron Artest. “We need him to guard ( Pau) Gasol and when he’s out of the game, Gasol has a better chance of being successful in the low block. Chuck fouled, he goes out and they start getting tips, we missed rebounds – and that was the difference in Game 4: We didn’t make any errors; we played really well.”

Meanwhile, the Rockets long-range shooting, such a major point of emphasis before the game, completely abandoned the club in its hour of need. Houston was a woeful 3-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first half and it only got worse from there as the Rockets finished by hitting just 5-of-29 (17.2%) from distance. Factor in the untimely return of the turnover bug ( Houston committed 18 on the night) and it created a perfect storm of events which conspired to bury the Rockets in a sea of purple and gold.

“We didn’t make a lot of threes, and we knew we had to make a lot of threes coming in to beat these guys today,” lamented Shane Battier. “When you’re hitting them like we did last game, it’s a great strategy and when you’re not you look like a fool. Our margin for error is very slim, so when you have foul trouble and a lot of turnovers it makes our job really tough.

“But we’re going to keep shooting threes and we’re going home and we’ve historically responded very well to double-digit losses this year. That’s our team. When people are ready to write us off we come out with a great effort like we did in Game 4, so there’s no reason to believe we can’t give a better effort in Game 6. We know it’s time to man-up or else it’s going to be golf time.”

QUOTES
RICK ADELMAN

on the big difference in their (Rockets) performance compared to Game 4:

“We played absolutely the opposite then we did in the last game. We turned it over in the 1st half, shot it poorly. Felt we forced shots and then we got shots and we couldn’t make shots. It was totally different, it was snowball they just really controlled the 2nd and 3rd quarters.”

on his game plan:

“We were trying to play the same way we did last game. We didn’t do that, we got to the middle of the lane, we turned it over, we forced plays. We were trying to force the issue and they got their hands on the ball and they got the open court. I think they had almost 20 points at halftime from fast breaks. And we said it, if we turn it over against this team we’re going to be in trouble and that’s exactly what we did. It just fed their energy level. Like I said the 2nd and 3rd quarter was as bad as our team played in a long time.”

on the Rockets outside shooting after a great performance in Game 4:

“I think we knew that they were going to come out with a lot more energy than they did at our place in the fourth game. I thought we turned it over, rushed it, and then when we did get shot we didn’t make anything. I thought it snowballed and got our heads down and nothing seemed to go right from that point on. Even the guys off the bench were getting looks and they couldn’t do anything. It’s just one of those games where you have to look at it, for all the good things we did in the last game, we have to look at this and find out how we’re going to turn it back around.”

on Game 6:

“I think we’re going to respond, our team has always responded and that’s what we have to do. We know it wasn’t a very good performance in our part, we know we can play better. I’m sure they’re feeling pretty good about themselves tonight and we’ve got to get home and get ourselves ready for the next game.”

RON ARTEST

on adjusting for game 7:

“When Yao went out we had to adjust and now we are on the road and that is an amazing adjustment for us. Now we are going to come back in game 7; we are going to know what to expect and how to play and have the energy to win.”

on what effect Bynum had in the Lakers line-up:

“I don’t know what effect anything had on us today. We had a good first couple of minutes and then we started to turn the ball over; we got a lot of turnovers early. But we are going to adjust, that is the thing with the Houston Rockets.”

on not having Yao in the game:

“I think it caught us by surprise last game and we just kind of picked up where we left off, so we were able to play and play hard. But we came late today. It really showed what we need to work on and the way that we need to improve in that; it is a major adjustment. But it is just having a big fellow in the middle to be dominant down there.”

on how this game affects him:

“There are 7 games. That is the thing about the playoffs, there are 7 games. That is the great thing about going to the playoffs and playing in the playoffs is that it is not just 1 game; it is not like football where there is 1 game, so you can only stay positive.”

On the difference between Games 4 and 5

Chuck fouled early and that hurt us because right now we have no room for error. We need him to guard Gasol and when he’s out of the game, Gasol has a better chance of being successful in the low block. Chuck fouled, he goes out and they start getting tips, we missed rebounds – and that was the difference in Game 4: We didn’t make any errors; we played really well.

CHUCK HAYES

on tonight’s game:

“We didn’t take care of the ball. They jumped on us, ran out, transition buckets, got everything to the basket that they wanted. Offensively we were out of sync. I take my hat off to them they came off better prepared then we were, ready to play mentally, so they got the win.

on the 40 point loss:

“A loss is a loss. If the game went down to the wire and we end up losing by two or one possession, it’s still a loss. We get to go back home try to tie the series up and hopefully come back here.”

on how to prepare for Game 6:

“We watch film, make the right adjustments that we need to offensively and defensively, but most of all we just need to come out ready to play. We have to be in tune, in sync; we do that and we give ourselves a chance at home.”

I thought we were (ready to play), but with so many missed assignments – I don’t know if it was lack of communication or we just didn’t know – we just weren’t in the right place at all tonight.

(on his second foul being a turning point):

Even if I didn’t get my second foul, we still have to run our offense, we still have to defend. We’ve got to find ways to make plays, make winning plays, and stick to it.

AARON BROOKS

on factors contributing to his team’s loss:

“We got off to a good start. It was 11-4 and then turnovers. They had 19 transition buckets in the first half and that’s too many. We had too many turnovers. There are adjustments we have to make. We did a good job the last game of making sure they didn’t go on runs like they did this game. We have to get back to that.”

SHANE BATTIER

on the Lakers performance tonight:

“I think Bynum had a great performance tonight and gave them a good boost. They scored more points in the paint. 56 points in the paint and that’s a lot more than they had in their previous wins. They played with more passion and more energy.”

On Hayes picking up his second foul:

Chuck is our best low-post defender and he can really hold down the paint. But once he went out of the game, things sort of opened up a little bit.

We had shots and we didn’t make a lot of threes, and we knew we had to make a lot of threes coming in to beat these guys today. When you’re hitting them like we did last game, it’s a great strategy and when you’re not you look like a fool. Our margin for error is very slim, so when you have foul trouble and a lot of turnovers it makes our job really tough. But we’re going to keep shooting threes and we’re going home and we’ve historically responded very well to double-digit losses this year. That’s our team. When people are ready to write us off we come out with a great effort like we did in Game 4, so there’s no reason to believe we can’t give a better effort in Game 6. We know it’s time to man-up or else it’s going to be golf time.

It was one of the few times this year I can remember when we let our offensive miscues affect the other end. We didn’t get back on defense very well and the game got away from us.

CARL LANDRY

on tonight’s loss carrying over into game 6:

“There won’t be any carry over. You won’t see anything like this in two days. We’ll be ready. We know if we don’t win we go home so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.

PHIL JACKSON

on the Lakers effort:

“I told the team that was really a terrific effort, great win but it doesn’t do anything but just mean that we brought home the 7th game guaranteed ourselves home court advantage in this series. And that’s what it’s all about, that win.”

on starting Andrew Bynum:

“Well I just watched Lamar a little bit about how he was moving and his reactions. Little bit of how he went through the warm-ups and after he got out there on the floor. I felt that he was pretty ginger still. Obviously, wanted to have that big line-up in there to take advantage of their smaller players that they have right now without Yao on the floor.”

on this series becoming an evolving story:

“Usually it’s about finding a way to squelch the other team is usually what the process is about and we keep trying to do that with them and they pop out and they find another way to get going. They’re very resilient and defensively it’s about eliminating what they can and shortening their possibilities and we know that they came right back in the 2nd half and went straight with penetration off the dribble, off-screen, still trying to attack us in that realm and still trying to pursue what they’ve done well against us. We were much better at it tonight.”

KOBE BRYANT

on tonight’s game and the difference form game 4:

“We just made our adjustments really. The last game they played a different style a little bit more up-tempo, spread the floor out a little bit. Penetration hurts and they got off to a quick start and we never recovered.”

on slowing down Houston point guard penetration:

“That was a big focus of ours Brooks did such a terrific job last game getting into the paint, making plays, and scoring himself. Where we had to try and make it a little bit tougher for him.”

on Bynum:

“Very happy, he looked energized he played with the kind of spirit we like to see from Andrew and hopefully he’ll keep it up.”

on game 6:

“You just got to stay focused and you have to understand that the effort that we did tonight is not going to be enough on Thursday, it’s just not. So you got to pick it up and bring more energy. Bring more effort because that’s what playoffs are about, each game you have to raise your level.”

PAU GASOL

on tonight’s game:

“Obviously, it was a better game overall. Better effort and better result.”

on whether this is an effort that the Lakers can take back to Houston for Game 6:

“Yes. I do think so. I think that if we are able to have the intensity and aggressiveness we had tonight, we’ll give ourselves a chance at Houston. We look forward to that.”

on the difference between tonight and Game 4:

“I think that we just started off a lot better. We set the tone earlier. We just got a higher level of intensity today than we did in Game 4.”

DEREK FISHER

on the mentality of the Lakers:

“It’s not about trying to send any messages or get revenge for something that happened before. You go out there and you do the best that you can on that given night. We did that tonight.”

LAMAR ODOM

on his back injury:

“I was able to get treatment all day yesterday and all day today. I couldn’t really picture myself not playing in Game 5.”

on the Lakers’ performance tonight:

“We started the game off with a lot of energy. You know, the strength of our team is our depth. If we can get contributions from everyone then we’re pretty hard to beat.”

TREVOR ARIZA

on the Lakers turning on and off their high-quality performances:

“Well, now we can’t worry about that. We have to worry about the next game and that’s Thursday and try to close them out.

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