Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka on losing Game 3 to the Los Angeles Lakers: “Horrendous mistakes. I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.”
Rockets Coach Throws Team Under the Bus
The Houston Rockets handed the Los Angeles Lakers a gift on Friday night, and their own coach made sure everyone knew it.
In one of the most shocking late-game collapses of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Houston blew a six-point lead in the final 30 seconds, lost 112-108 in overtime, and now stares down an 0-3 series deficit.
When asked how the game fell apart from his vantage point, Rockets coach Ime Udoka delivered a scorching assessment of his own players. “Horrendous mistakes,” Udoka said bluntly.
“I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment, or whatever the case.” He then methodically broke down every critical error in the final sequence, a turnover on what was essentially a one-on-four situation, a terrible foul on Marcus Smart that gifted the Lakers three free throws, a backcourt violation, another turnover, and finally, the Rockets not executing the final play as drawn up. “All of the above,” Udoka said.
Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka on losing Game 3 to the Los Angeles Lakers: “Horrendous mistakes. I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.”
At one point, the Rockets had a 101-95 lead after LeBron James had back-to-back turnovers, leading to the game being pretty much out of reach. But with 25 seconds left, Houston made a mistake that led to a foul on Marcus Smart, who was at the line for a three-point shot and scored all three free throws, bringing the score down to a three-point difference. James then made a steal from Reed Sheppard and hit a very cool and very cold three-point shot to tie the game with only 13 seconds left in the game.
Alperen Sengun’s last-second shot missed the rim, which allowed the game to go to overtime, where the Lakers outscored the Rockets 11-7 to end the game 112-108.
In their defense, Houston’s young core did not give up after falling behind by 15 points in the first half. Alperen Sengun showed his strength throughout the game with 33 points and 16 rebounds, while Amen Thompson contributed 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Rockets even outrebounded the Lakers and had more points in the paint; however, all those efforts were pointless due to the late-game meltdown. Kevin Durant, who is still recovering from a sprained ankle, was not present to rescue them.
Udoka acknowledged the collapse wasn’t an isolated incident. “It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” he said. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious and you can’t have those.”
With a 0-3 series hole, the Rockets’ season is way too close to be over. And after a presser where their own coach publicly dismantled their performance mistake by mistake, the question now isn’t just whether Houston can survive Game 4. It’s whether Udoka himself survives the summer.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
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