Ime Udoka calls out Rockets team for 'horrendous mistakes' blowing lead to Lakers
Houston was up six with 28 seconds left in the game, but two ugly turnovers let the Lakers push the game to overtime.
With 28 seconds left and the Rockets up six and with the ball, Houston had the game in hand. They just had to take care of the ball and not make any foolish mistakes. They failed.
"Horrendous mistakes," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said, via the Associated Press. "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, or 30 seconds to go, get a rebound, you just have to hold the ball and get fouled.
" It all went wrong for Houston when Marcus Smart stole the ball from Jabari Smith Jr. , then Jae'Sean Tate fouled Smart on a 3-point attempt. Suddenly, it was a 3-point game.
Then, LeBron James knocked the ball away from Reed Sheppard and turned it into a 3-pointer on the other end. Tie game. The Lakers went on to win in overtime.