Houston Rockets Lose 7th Seed in Heartbreaking Fashion

Apr 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets forward Greg Smith (4) dives for the ball as Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Blake (5) watches at the Staples Center. The Lakers defeated the Rockets 99-95 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The stage was set for a classic season finale showdown, with the winner taking the 7^th seed in the west, and a right to face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.  But the Houston Rockets did not have enough fuel in the tank at the end of the game, losing 99-95 in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers.

James Harden did all he could to try and lead the Rockets to victory, finishing with 30 points and 8 rebounds, but was just 8 for 25 shooting, and turned the ball over 6 times.  Chandler Parsons added 23 points.

With the Rockets trailing 90-87, Parsons sank a 34-foot three at the buzzer that tied the game and sent it into overtime.  Unfortunately for the Rockets, that would be the only highlight for them in the final moments of the game as the Lakers took control of the overtime period.

The Lakers, now counting on the leadership of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, with Kobe Bryant being out for the rest of the season, received the type of game they were looking for from both players.  Howard finished with 16 points and 18 assists, including a block on a Harden layup attempt in the final moments of overtime that all but sealed the win for the Lakers.

Gasol recorded his second triple-double in three games, finishing with 17 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists.  The Lakers also got contributions from Steve Blake, who scored a career high 24 points, and Antawn Jamison, who added 16 points.

The Rockets dropped four out of their last six games to close out the regular season, and will now play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

Houston had the lead for most of the game until mid-way through the fourth quarter when Blake hit a three that put the Lakers on top 81-79.  The Rockets success for the first 3½ quarters came from the transition game, as it has all season.  But their offense struggled to find any sort of continuity in the final moments of the fourth quarter.

“If we play their pace, their two big guys just control the game after a while,” Kevin McHale said. “We went through some stretches where we struggled offensively. We were stopping them, but they were just getting second and third shots. That killed us.”

“The Lakers did a good job down the stretch, and we didn’t do as good of a job,” said Jeremy Lin, who had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. “We didn’t get the looks we wanted to get, and we ended up with a lot of tough shots down the stretch.”

The Lakers will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, while Harden gets the chance to play his former team, the Thunder.

Box Score:

Houston Rockets

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

42

4-6

0-0

0-0

2

8

10

1

0

4

1

5

+12

8

45

10-18

2-7

1-2

0

4

4

3

1

0

3

3

-13

23

43

4-7

0-0

0-1

3

9

12

0

1

1

1

5

-6

8

35

4-14

2-7

2-4

0

2

2

8

0

0

2

4

-5

12

45

8-25

4-13

10-12

2

6

8

3

1

0

6

3

-4

30

BENCH

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

13

2-2

0-0

0-0

1

2

3

2

1

0

0

1

-4

4

18

2-5

0-2

2-2

1

4

5

2

1

0

0

3

-1

6

15

0-4

0-2

0-0

0

2

2

2

1

0

0

3

+1

0

9

1-3

0-2

2-3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

4

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Fast break points:   19Points in the paint:   48Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   14 (11)

+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.

Los Angeles Lakers

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

44

7-17

0-0

3-4

5

15

20

11

0

2

3

0

+1

17

24

4-11

2-5

2-3

2

1

3

3

1

0

0

2

+2

12

46

6-15

0-1

4-10

3

15

18

2

3

4

4

4

+6

16

48

6-20

4-12

8-8

2

5

7

7

0

0

1

2

+13

24

37

2-10

1-7

4-5

0

2

2

1

2

0

0

3

+4

9

BENCH

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

33

6-12

2-5

2-4

4

0

4

1

0

0

1

1

+11

16

12

0-1

0-1

0-0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

1

-7

0

6

0-2

0-0

0-0

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

-12

0

16

2-2

1-1

0-0

0

1

1

2

0

0

2

4

+2

5

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP STRAINED RIGHT HAMSTRING

TOTALS

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS