Everything LeBron James Said About Lakers' Blowout G4 Loss to Rockets, Ayton and Thiero Ejections
Sunday night was not one of LeBron James' finer efforts.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar finished with 10 points, nine assists and eight turnovers in his team's 115-96 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of their Western Conference Playoff matchup, shooting 2-of-9 from the field.
So there will be no sweep, even as the Lakers hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. After the game, James discussed the rough performance, calling the team's 23 overall turnovers its "kryptonite".
"Obviously we know coming into the series we have to protect the ball against them, not have too many pick-sixes," James said. "Which we did, all night. That started with me, obviously, my turnovers were unacceptable. But we'll do a better job with that one Wednesday. We understand that offensive rebounds for them and pick-sixes is not going to be good for our ball club."
He added that defense wasn't the team's problem on Sunday.
While Sunday was an evening to forget, the Lakers were basically left for dead after both Luka Dončić and Austin Raves entered the playoffs with injuries. Neither has played in the series to this point, though James and L.A.'s role players have been up for the challenge.
Granted, Houston has also been without Kevin Durant for three of the four games in the matchup, leaving the Rockets without their offensive fulcrum. But it's been the Lakers who have navigated the absence of star players better.
At least until Sunday. The Lakers weren't helped by DeAndre Ayton getting himself ejected for a high elbow in the third quarter, or Adou Thiero getting tossed in the fourth quarter after a tussle with Aaron Holiday (who was also ejected).
James was surprised by the Ayton ejection.
"I know what I saw. I thought he was bracing for [Alperen] Şengün on the post-up," he told reporters. "Elbow, getting ready for the physical contact and then his arm slipped and hit him in the head. The refs said they didn't see it that way and they made the call. But you gotta be pretty damn good to just elbow somebody like that on purpose."
He also said he was "pissed off" that Thiero was ejected and it "made no sense."
As for the rest of the Lakers, a dreadful night from beyond the arc (5-for-22, 22.7 percent) didn't help their chances either. The Rockets also got to the free-throw line 10 more times than the Lakers, turning 31 attempts into 25 points.
All in all, a rough showing from LeBron and the Lakers. They'll look to close out the series Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
