LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick saw the urgency he was anticipating Tuesday while his team practiced before what could be its final game of a tumultuous season.
鈥淚 would describe us as on edge,鈥 Redick said. 鈥淎s we should be.鈥
The Lakers aren’t the only high seed with its collective back against the gym wall heading into .
The third-seeded Lakers and the second-seeded Rockets both won division titles this season while barely outlasting several competitors in the tight Western Conference, where only four wins separated second-seeded Houston from eighth-seeded Memphis.
But the Lakers and Rockets are both on the brink of elimination now: The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors are taking 3-1 leads on the road with the chance to finish these first-round series and send themselves into a second-round matchup with each other.
鈥淲e definitely have to treat it like Game 7,鈥 Luka Doncic said. 鈥淚f you lose, you go home, no matter what. We can鈥檛 look in the future. Got to focus on this game, and then from there go on.鈥
The only advantage from earning those slightly higher seeds is arriving now: The Lakers and Rockets both get to play at home in Game 5 鈥 and in Game 7, if either makes it that far.
鈥淲e have to play with a sense of desperation,鈥 Redick said. 鈥淐an鈥檛 change what鈥檚 already happened, and you can鈥檛 feel sorry for yourself.鈥
The big-picture reasons why the Lakers and Rockets find themselves in this predicament are clear, and even logical.
That won’t make first-round exits any easier to swallow if they can’t rally from this daunting deficit.
The Lakers are still building their identity and teamwork after . Their new Slovenian superstar only played 21 games alongside LeBron James during the regular season 鈥 hardly enough time to figure out a consistent winning approach, as Los Angeles is learning in the first round against Anthony Edwards and the more tested Wolves.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have much practice together, so it鈥檚 hard to get the chemistry on the court, but I think we鈥檙e ready for it,鈥 Doncic said. 鈥淲e could have won some games (in the series). Little mistakes cost us, but we鈥檙e still confident we can win, and we鈥檙e going to go after (it with) everything.鈥
The Rockets got back in the playoffs after a four-season absence with a revitalizing season under coach Ime Udoka. Houston won 52 games despite lacking a top-25 scorer and relying largely on defensive intensity 鈥 but that formula hasn’t looked like enough to take four games from Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets
When/where to watch: Game 5, 7:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)
BetMGM says: Rockets by 4.5
The Warriors seized control of Monday night by taking over in the fourth quarter. Butler did much of the work while playing through injury, scoring 23 points in the second half and 14 in the final period.
For all their toughness, the Rockets’ lack of a top offensive player . Leading scorer Jalen Green didn’t get a bucket in the fourth quarter 鈥 not even taking a shot during the 7:02 he spent on the court 鈥 and finished with just eight points.
Yet the Rockets will draw hope from the fact they kept it close, with Fred VanVleet missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Houston is hoping a return home will spark Green, who hit eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points in the Rockets’ Game 2 victory.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
When/where to watch: Game 5, 10 p.m. EDT (TNT)
BetMGM says: Lakers by 5.5
Los Angeles is staggered after back-to-back losses at Minnesota despite leading in the fourth quarter of both games, including a seven-point advantage . At least the Lakers are back in their downtown arena, where they compiled the NBA’s third-best home record this season 鈥 although , which the Wolves won handily.
Edwards criticized the intensity of the Lakers鈥 home crowd earlier in the series, but he decided after Game 4 that Los Angeles鈥 downtown arena is a difficult place to play after all.
鈥淚 told them it鈥檚 going to be the toughest game that we鈥檝e played all season, all series, because everyone is going to be against us,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be 300,000 people and then the Timberwolves, 12 players and the coaches and the people in the organization that travels with us. Back against the wall in enemy territory. These are the moments that we should live for 鈥 going on the road and trying to close a team out. It鈥檚 going to be tough, going to be a tough atmosphere, but it should be fun. If you like competing at the highest level, I told them it should be fun.鈥
Edwards thought the Lakers looked tired in the fourth quarter of Game 4 after Redick curiously played the same five players for the entire second half 鈥 and many Lakers fans thought Edwards was correct, exposing Redick to some of the most significant criticism he has faced in his successful rookie season.
Redick rejected that notion Tuesday, instead suggesting the Lakers’ poor execution down the stretch in their 19-point fourth quarter of Game 4 鈥 with none of those points from James 鈥 were symptomatic of a fourth-quarter malaise throughout the series.
鈥淟ooking back now, what did we score, 19, 20, 13 in the fourth quarter (of the first three games)?鈥 Redick asked. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a trend. More so than that, our two best players missed layups at the rim (in Game 4). I don鈥檛 think they missed layups because they were tired.鈥
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
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