LeBron James, Lakers Criticized by Fans After Failing to Close Out Rockets Despite Reaves' Return

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their first-round playoff matchup on Wednesday night, failing to advance to the second round after entering the contest with a 3-1 series lead.

With Los Angeles trailing by four points and just under 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, James missed a three-pointer that would have cut the deficit to one.

After the game, he responded to Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. saying that Houston was the better team in the series.

It was a particularly tough loss for the Lakers as Austin Reaves made his return from an oblique injury that he initially suffered on April 2.

Reaves finished with 22 points and six assists, but shot just 4-of-16 from the field in the defeat.

As for James, he scored 25 points and dished out seven assists of his own. He shot 9-of-20 from the field, although he missed all six of his three-point attempts and committed a costly turnover late in the game.

Fans and pundits called out James and the Lakers for the performance.

The Lakers started off strong, taking an 11-point lead near the end of the first quarter and holding a 28-21 edge once the period came to a close.

Houston outscored Los Angeles 30-19 in the second quarter to gain a four-point advantage heading into halftime, though.

The Rockets went on to lead the game throughout the entire third quarter, withstanding multiple runs by the Lakers.

Houston eventually went up 87-74 with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth, although Los Angeles quickly responded with an 11-1 run to cut the deficit to three.

Still, Rockets guard Reed Sheppard immediately scored four consecutive points to give his team some more breathing room and the Lakers weren't able to complete the late comeback.

Los Angeles struggled with ball security during the game, finishing with 15 turnovers compared to 19 assists. The Lakers also shot just 25.9 percent from behind the arc as a team.

Now, Los Angeles will look to close out Houston in Game 6 after initially holding a 3-0 series lead.