NBA Hoosiers (Sept. 10): Season on Brink Now for Eric Gordon, Rockets after Game 4 Loss

The Houston Rockets are all in with playing small and beating teams with three-pointers. But there are occasions when that plan backfires, and that was certainly the case on Thursday night in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

All of the statistical categories that matter a lot — points in the paints, rebounds, transition points — heavily favored the Lakers, and they won 110-100 in a game that wasn't nearly that close. The Lakers led by 23 at one point in the fourth quarter.

"We got down on ourselves a little bit," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said postgame. "We’ve been battling uphill the last three or four days. We’ll lay it out on the line [in Game 5] and go from there."

Former Indiana star Eric Gordon had 19 points, and led the Rockets with four three-pointers. Russell Westbrook scored 25 for Houston, but All-Star James Harden really struggled, making only 2-of-11 shots from the field.

Anthony Davis led all scorers with 29 points and LeBron James quietly fell one assist short of a triple-double. He had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists and now the Lakers are only one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010.

Friday's NBA Games

Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics, 9 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): You wouldn't expect the Toronto Raptors to roll over, being the defending NBA champions and all, and they've been scratching to stay alive in this series. Now it all comes down to a winner-take-all Game 7, with the winner getting the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Former Indiana star OG Anunoby has been great for Toronto. He hit a deciding three-pointer to win Game 3, and played 50 minutes to help this stay alive in Game 6 with a double-overtime win.
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers, 6:30 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): The Clippers can advance to their first-ever Western Conference final with a win Friday night against Denver. Kawhi Leonard, who had 30 points for LA in the Game 4 win, knows they're going to get the best shot from Denver. "It's always good if you can make it to the next round, but we've got a lot of work to do still," Leonard said. "The Denver team does not quit. They've got a good group over there, a good coach, so we're still fighting."