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Former Celtics guard leads improbable rally in upset over Rockets
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- Former Celtics guard leads improbable rally in upset over Rockets
The Lakers are one win away from advancing to the second round despite playing without Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves this round. Marcus Smart continues to be a big reason why.
The veteran guard put together one of his best postseason games in his career on Friday night, sparking an improbable Lakers rally in the final 25 seconds of regulation to force overtime and ultimately a 112-108 overtime win over the Rockets.
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Houston had the ball and a six-point lead over the Lakers with 30 seconds remaining in regulation before Smart’s heroics turned the game upside down. The former Celtics guard stole an ill advised pass from Jabari Smith Jr and proceeded to draw a three-shot foul, drilling all three free throws to cut the Lakers’ deficit to three.
“Just make a play. My instincts,” Smart said of the sequence to reporters. “We knew they were going to try to ice the game and we needed to make a play. Jabari Smith had the ball. I just kind of stunted to see what he does. He picked his dribble up and now he’s in no man’s land. He threw a loft pass for me to recover and I got it.”
On the ensuing possession, Smart came up with the ball after a LeBron James steal and advanced the ball quickly up the court to create an opportunity for a game-tying 3 at the end of regulation.
Those plays capped a stellar all around effort from Smart as he finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks in the win to give the Lakers a 3-0 series lead.
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“He’s a winner. He makes winning plays.” JJ Redick told reporters.
The Lakers will try to close out the series on Sunday afternoon in Game 4 in Houston.
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