The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 4, with Deandre Ayton leading the team before being ejected from the game. The game took place on April 28, and Ayton finished with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds before his ejection for a Flagrant 2 foul after an elbow to Alperen Sengun.
Ayton’s performance stood out as he was the top scorer for the Lakers, but his absence late in the game was felt as Los Angeles struggled offensively. Despite his disappointment at not finishing Game 4, Ayton said he is eager for Game 5. “I’m licking my chops. I’m licking my chops, trust me,” Ayton said. “I’ve been here before. This was supposed to be an elimination game but I love what the crowd brought with the energy, it was perfect. Try to end this at home, but I love the intensity, I love the fight I saw in the guys over there with the Rockets. I can’t wait [for Game 5].”
Looking forward to playing at home again, Ayton expects a high-energy atmosphere and believes that both he and his teammates will need to increase their intensity level for Game 5. “Tonight definitely didn’t make us feel comfortable. We’re pretty angry. I’m pretty angry,” Ayton admitted. “Honestly, I wish we could play tomorrow. I have a lot of energy now. But we’re gonna go back, watch the film and really turn up our level of intensity a little bit higher. We’ll have our fans out there chanting for us, [it should be] quite a game.”
Game 4 showed signs of fatigue among Lakers players following their overtime win in Game 3; outside of Ayton’s efforts, other players had difficulty shooting and handling turnovers while Houston capitalized on these mistakes.
With Kevin Durant likely missing Game 5 due to an ankle injury and Houston showing resilience throughout this series so far, Los Angeles will need focus if they hope to advance without further setbacks.
Clint Capela responded after hearing about comments made by Ayton regarding frustrations with his role on the team; Capela said he was surprised by those remarks though no further conflict has been reported.
