It was not the loss in Game 4 that troubled the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the officiating that led to multiple ejections and league-wide discipline. A total of five players across both teams were assessed technical fouls during the game as physicality escalated. But 2 Purple and Gold stars were ejected, and their teammates took a stand after the final buzzer. Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard were fined a combined $60,000 for their protest, and the latter spoke about the incident.
“I’ll always have my teammates’ backs,” said Kennard after practice on Tuesday. “Not much other to say than that. I’ve got to be a little bit more composed and under control, can’t let the emotions get the best of me. But no other comment on that.”
Luke Kennard was fined $25,000 for his verbal interaction with the crew, “directing inappropriate language towards the referees”. Marcus Smart was fined $35,000 for “questioning the integrity of game officials”. This started after the Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Houston Rockets, where Smart walked toward several Lakers teammates and referee James Williams. He got into an animated back-and-forth with officials, and LeBron James pulled him away. But Luke Kennard entered and offered his piece of mind as the Lakers thought they were on the receiving end of unjust calls.
One of the most controversial calls was the flagrant two foul that was assessed to Deandre Ayton in the third quarter. The Lakers center inadvertently caught Alperen Sengun on the head. But even the Rockets’ star called it soft, putting more pressure on the official Williams. Then, at the end, with 1:11 left till the final whistle, Williams gave double technical fouls and ejected Lakers forward Adou Thiero and Rockets guard Aaron Holiday after both players exchanged words, getting tangled up underneath the basket.
It was Thiero’s first postseason appearance, during which he scored his first basket with an emphatic alley-oop dunk over Dorian Finney-Smith. His ejection even led to LeBron James being vocal about the referee’s mistake. Fortunately, there are no suspensions for any Lakers players. They will all suit up in Purple and Gold to put the series to bed at Crypto.com Arena. There is positive news for the team ahead of Game 5.
It was the start of April when AR suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s been nearly four weeks, and the 27-year-old has ramped up his recovery for an early return on the court. ESPN’s senior insider Shams Charania provided the latest update: “Multiple sources are telling me right now that Austin Reaves and the Lakers are optimistic that he’ll make his return to the lineup on Wednesday night in game five against the Houston Rockets.”
Even the Lakers’ star expressed similar enthusiasm for his return. “I feel good,” Reaves told reporters Tuesday. “I want to get back out there as fast as I can. But like I said, I feel good and trending in the right direction and can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and attack another day.” Now add to this that the Rockets’ status on Kevin Durant remains uncertain.
courtside during Game 4 as Houston kept the series alive, but his availability for Game 5 remains in doubt. Charania also reported that Durant is still unlikely to play due to lingering issues from a bone bruise and ankle sprain.
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