Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka called out his players after the team’s epic collapse on Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets had a win virtually wrapped up with under 30 seconds left in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Despite having possession and a six-point lead, the Rockets still found a way to lose the contest.
Two avoidable turnovers, a fouled three-point shooter, and a clutch three from LeBron James forced overtime. The pressure of choking and falling to 0-3 in the series consumed the Rockets in OT, losing 112-108 against an undermanned Lakers squad.
Udoka laid into his team during his postgame press conference.
“Horrendous mistakes,” Udoka said with a stern look on his face. “I don’t know if you want to say youth, or scared of the moment, or whatever the case.
“You have a six-point lead with 20, 30 seconds to go. Get a rebound and just have to hold the ball, get fouled. … To make it worse, a terrible foul on Marcus Smart to give him three free throws.
“Next play, backcourt, you’ve got it. Double’s coming. You try to split it instead of throwing it to [Alperen Sengun] wide open. Turnover, and James makes a tough shot.”
Houston had a chance to salvage a win with a last-second shot in regulation. Udoka added that Houston did not run the play he drew up, resulting in Sengun badly missing a contested fadeaway along the baseline.
With the Rockets’ season all but over barring a miraculous turnaround, Udoka could be looking at an offseason on the hot seat. While he could be angry at his players for letting a winnable game slip away, Udoka still deserves part of the blame as head coach.
Beyond the Game 3 collapse, the Rockets were outplayed and outcoached through three games against a Lakers team missing two of its three best players.
