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LeBron James faces Jabari Smith during the Lakers’ Game 5 loss as Houston backed up its “better team” claim.

LeBron James didn’t have much interest in engaging with pregame talk.

Not even after Jabari Smith Jr. publicly declared the Houston Rockets were “obviously the better team.”

“I don’t care about [expletive] like that, bro,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers fell 99-93 in Game 5. “The game’s only between the four lines. I don’t give a [expletive] who cares. I mean, of course, you say, why would you say we’re not the better team? Like, but I don’t, ask one of them young guys that question. I’m too old for that [expletive].”

On the court, Houston backed up the confidence — at least for one more night.

Rockets Back Up Belief With Game 5 Win

Smith Jr. scored 22 points, Tari Eason added 18, and Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double as the Rockets avoided elimination with a gritty 99-93 win.

The victory trims Los Angeles’ series lead to 3-2 and sends the matchup back to Houston for Game 6.

“Just stay with it, be us, be aggressive, play free,” Smith Jr. said before the game. “We’re obviously the better team, I feel like.”

For two straight games, the Rockets have played like it.

Houston controlled the tempo late, turned the game into a half-court battle and executed down the stretch — the same formula that has suddenly put pressure back on the Lakers.

LeBron James Focused on Results, Not Talk

James finished with 25 points and seven assists, scoring 17 after halftime, but it wasn’t enough to close the series.

He acknowledged Houston’s performance rather than the words that came before it.

“Listen, it’s one game,” James said. “You give credit where credit is due. They played well the last two games, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer the call.”

That response reflects a veteran perspective shaped by two decades of playoff battles. For James, momentum shifts matter more than soundbites.

Lakers Struggle to Close, Turnovers Costly

The Lakers had control of the series at 3-0 but have now dropped two straight — including a Game 5 performance defined by mistakes.

Los Angeles committed 15 turnovers, many of them unforced, and struggled to generate consistent offense in key stretches.

A late push cut the deficit to three, but Houston answered.

Reed Sheppard delivered one of the defining sequences, hitting a jumper before stripping James and finishing a fast-break dunk with 2:20 remaining.

James then missed two late 3-point attempts, finishing 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

“We have some opportunities to make some shots we didn’t make,” James said. “As much as we’ve got to defend, we’ve also got to score.”

Rockets Build Momentum Without Kevin Durant

What makes Houston’s surge more notable is the absence of Kevin Durant, who has missed most of the series.

Instead, the Rockets have leaned on balance, ball movement and defensive discipline — with Sengun anchoring the offense and role players stepping into larger roles.

“We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history,” Sengun said.

History remains a steep climb. No NBA team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series.

But Houston has now taken two steps toward extending the fight.

Game 6 Stakes: Pressure Shifts to Lakers

For the Lakers, the tone has shifted from control to urgency.

Teams led by James have never blown a 2-0 series lead, but another loss would force a Game 7 — and place Los Angeles among the few teams to let a 3-0 lead slip that far.

“We don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it,” James said. “Once we get on that plane and head down to Houston, we’ve got to forget about it and understand what we’re going for.”

Game 6 now carries the weight of the series.

And for James, the message is clear: ignore the talk, respond on the floor.