Marcus Smart established himself as the Los Angeles Lakers' X-factor during the regular season, but he has gone above and beyond that so far in their first-round NBA playoff series against the Houston Rockets. In the three games played so far, he's averaging 20.3 points on 52.9% field-goal shooting and 50% from 3-point range, 8.3 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.7 blocks a game.

He was pivotal in the Lakers' 112-108 overtime Game 3 win. With just under 30 seconds left in regulation and his team down by six, he stole the ball from Jabari Smith Jr. in the backcourt, got fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and made all three of the resulting free throws. He then scored eight points in overtime and finished with 21 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

That made Smart the first player in the Lakers' storied history to have at least two playoff games in a row with at least 20 points and five steals. He had tallied 25 points and five steals in L.A.'s 101-94 Game 2 victory.

Marcus became the FIRST player in franchise history to have back-to-back playoff games with at least 20 points & five steals. pic.twitter.com/vpa9Btg0OH

With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined due to injury, Smart is one of several players who have stepped things up offensively to make up for all the point production Los Angeles has been missing with both stars out.

The team can knock the Rockets out of the playoffs with a sweep when Game 4 takes place in Houston on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Marcus Smart made Lakers franchise history in Game 3 vs Rockets