LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 5 at the Crypto.com Arena to set up a Game 6 in Houston. The Houston Rockets came out on top of a tightly contested affair in which both teams threatened to run away with it at different intervals. The Lakers have allowed momentum to swing completely in the Rockets’ direction and know that a loss on Friday will put them in a territory only Boston (2023) has been in — hosting a Game 7 after going 3-0 up in a playoff series. The Lakers are in this unwanted situation because of their second-quarter struggles.
One Quarter Is All It Takes: Lakers’ Fatal Flaw Exposed in Playoff Losses
Momentum Slips After Game 3 High
Immediately after the Lakers sealed an improbable Game 3 win in overtime, momentum was completely in their corner. Given the manner of the win — forcing OT despite being six points down with 30 seconds left in regulation — you could understand the shift. Houston had seemingly thrown away Game 3 while Kevin Durant was conspicuously absent from the bench. Credit to the Rockets, they somehow dug deep to find the resolve to win Game 4 emphatically.
Second Quarter Collapse Turns Game 5
Winning Game 5 on the road was supposed to be a different ball game altogether. LeBron James had not lost a closeout game in a playoff series since 2008, an 18-year run. Also, Austin Reaves was returning to the lineup. The Lakers went up by as many as 11 points in the first quarter. The Rockets would flip the script in the second quarter, outscoring LA by 11 points to take a four-point lead into intermission. Houston never went back down again in the game. Zooming out, this is a pattern that has become clear throughout the series.
For the first time in 18 years, LeBron James has lost a closeout game at home 😳 pic.twitter.com/gB3G4JDVCg
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 30, 2026
The Lakers have outright lost four of the five second quarters against the Rockets. LA have consistently lost momentum heading into the break. In fact, they are the lowest-scoring team in the postseason in the second quarter. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem; the Lakers struggled with second quarters throughout the season. They owned a negative net rating (18th in the NBA) in second quarters during the regular season. That was the second-worst mark among teams that made the playoffs. Redick acknowledged the second quarter as a turning point in his postgame interview after Game 5, pointing specifically to turnovers and lapses in execution: “Another period in the second quarter where we just turn the ball over. We certainly had some long stretches where we didn’t have successive turnovers, but that was part of it. Little bit of game plan and key mistakes defensively for us in that second quarter.”
Rotation Questions and Urgency
This idiosyncrasy of the Lakers can be linked to LeBron’s minutes. He usually spends the most time on the bench in the second quarter. Some of it can be linked to Coach JJ Redick’s rotations. Whatever the cause is, the Lakers coaching staff need to figure out a way to stop it before it puts them in a situation no one wants to be in: being the first team in NBA history to lose after going up 3-0. The record is 160-0. The Lakers need to figure out how to solve their second-quarter struggles (and, to a lesser extent, their third-quarter issues) so they can extend that streak to 161.
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