{"id":1914176,"date":"2026-05-02T12:23:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1914176"},"modified":"2026-05-02T12:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:23:46","slug":"lebron-james-owned-the-moment-and-in-the-end-the-houston-rockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1914176","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James owned the moment, and in the end, the Houston Rockets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOUSTON \u2014 There were a lot of things that could\u2019ve credibly been going through LeBron James\u2019 mind in the final minutes of Game 6 Friday night. He sat alone on the end of the Lakers\u2019 bench while players from both teams went through the final minute of pregame warmups and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n

He stared out at the court with intent, but his focus went inward. This wasn\u2019t the time to think about the future, about whether or not he\u2019d keep pushing himself physically and mentally through a 24th season next fall. This wasn\u2019t the time to think about the past, about the growing possibility that his 23rd season could end with his team becoming the first in league history to take a 3-0 lead then squander it.<\/p>\n

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The Rockets entered Game 6 with momentum. They\u2019d entered it with bravado, Jabari Smith Jr. saying that the Rockets were \u201cobviously\u201d the better team after winning just once in the first four. They entered Friday with answers to the Lakers\u2019 plans, Ime Udoka saying his team had discovered tendencies they could exploit.<\/p>\n

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As the clock ticked down and the crowd noise ramped up, James thought of none of it. He\u2019d experienced so much and seen even more over the 297 playoff games he\u2019d already played.<\/p>\n

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So before Game 298, he calmly inhaled, exhaled and absorbed the environment.<\/p>\n

He was in the moment. It\u2019s been a goal he\u2019d set for himself this season, to allow himself more time to recognize the moments he was experiencing with the knowledge that these chances were coming to an end. It meant showing gratitude to fans in Toronto, emotion to the ones in Cleveland. It meant cherishing the on-court time with his oldest son.<\/p>\n

And Friday, it meant soaking in all the atmosphere, all that noise and energy. And then shutting it the hell up.<\/p>\n

Hours later, he was the last Lakers player to leave the court, his arms in the air as he made his way off the Toyota Center floor. The Lakers had just demolished the Houston Rockets 98-78. He led all scorers with 28.<\/p>\n

Fourteen of those points came in the second quarter when Houston, as a team, scored 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a f\u2014\u2014 psychopath,\u201d Austin Reaves said of James.<\/p>\n

For the 41-year-old who already sits at the top of so many NBA leaderboards, what he and the Lakers accomplished Friday was worth celebrating. Whether the Rockets had Kevin Durant or not, the Lakers weren\u2019t supposed to win this series. They were underdogs at tip off in each of the four games they won. They didn\u2019t get Reaves back until Game 5 and weren\u2019t close to having Luka Don\u010di\u0107 available. The Lakers\u2019 success this season came at a time when those guards, with James\u2019 blessing, took the lead. With them hurt, James grabbed hold and extended it.<\/p>\n

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James was orchestrating things throughout the round. The series opened with him picking apart the Houston defense with his passing, getting his teammates in an early rhythm. In Game 3, he hit the biggest shot, a game-tying triple that forced overtime. His fourth quarter in Game 5 gave the Lakers a chance before he slammed the door in Game 6.<\/p>\n

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In a vacuum, the averages are impressive: 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists over 38.5 minutes per game. At 41 years old, those numbers seem like typos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at this point, I mean in my career \u2026 I talked about just living in the moment a lot more and being OK with celebrating the small victories,\u201d James said. \u201cAnd I think we should be proud of and the way we handled this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday, James was the key piece in the Lakers\u2019 win against the younger, faster-healing Houston Rockets. He wasn\u2019t the only one. Rob Pelinka\u2019s biggest offseason adds, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, led a defense that held Houston to just 78 points, just the fifth time since 2020 a team\u2019s done that. Rui Hachimura, timid at times in Game 5, quickly stepped into shots in Game 6 and made five 3s. And Reaves, who smoked a pair of layups in his return, did all his damage in the paint, attacking the rim with good burst despite having Amen Thompson on his hip.<\/p>\n

And JJ Redick and his coaching staff, despite having a roster without the ideal defensive pieces, held Houston to fewer than 100 points four times.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of my existence in life is gratitude. I\u2019m so grateful to represent the Lakers. I\u2019m so grateful for our players. I\u2019m so grateful for my staff,\u201d Redick said after winning his first playoff series as a coach. \u201cDoing this, it\u2019s such a collective effort. I wish people understood how many people put their heart and soul into something just to try to win a basketball game. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But this triumph begins with James, his ability to instill belief in his short-handed team, the force and focus he created from the Lakers\u2019 first possession, a bully-ball layup he scored, the consistent attention he paid to the details until he walked off the floor with the Rockets and their silenced fans defeated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the mission,\u201d James said of that quiet. \u201cThe mission is to go out there in a hostile environment and be able to execute the game plan and come out victorious.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For his teammates, James continues to create the moments that they\u2019ll remember for the rest of their lives. Reaves, his longest tenured Lakers teammate, said that everything he\u2019ll ever accomplish in the NBA, from working his way up from an undrafted player on a two-way contract to a star on the Lakers, will be lower on the list than winning as James\u2019 teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop of the list,\u201d Reaves told The Athleitc<\/em>. \u201c\u2026 After the game I came over and I was like, \u2018You\u2019re literally incredible.\u2019 Like, this isn\u2019t me like, I\u2019ve never asked him for anything. I\u2019ve never \u2026 I just said, \u2018Thank you.\u2019 I want our relationship to be genuine and I told him like, real s\u2014, thanks for letting me be a part of this.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Cause it\u2019s like every single night it\u2019s something new and he\u2019s literally incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Lakers gathered in the locker room after Game 6 and gathered as a group, the lights unexpectedly went dark as the room filled with players doing their best goat impressions, the bleats reserved for James when he\u2019s reminded him he\u2019s one of the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, he\u2019s had the greatest career of any NBA player,\u201d Redick said. \u201cYou can argue all you want, and I really don\u2019t care to postulate on who\u2019s the greatest of all time. But he\u2019s one of, if not the greatest of all time.\u00a0 And for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it\u2019s really, it\u2019s baffling in some ways. The leadership aspect \u2026 he just has this ability to set the tone for the entire group. And he did that again tonight and our guys responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy for him. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2014 There were a lot of things that could\u2019ve credibly been going through LeBron James\u2019 mind in the final minutes of Game 6 Friday night. He sat alone on the end of the Lakers\u2019 bench while players from both teams went through the final minute of pregame warmups and took a deep breath. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1914176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1914176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1914176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1914176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1914176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}