Jabari Smith Jr. Steps up Big for Rockets in Game 3 Heartbreaking Loss

He deserves his flowers.

Apr 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) warms up beore the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Western Conference Quarterfinals round between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers has been a relatively tightly played series. The Lakers lead the series by just 20 total points.

Meaning the average margin of victory is just 6.7 points for each game. Both teams are playing without key players, due to injury, as the Rockets have been without Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Kevin Durant (although Durant has played in one of the three games of the series).

On the Lakers' side, they've been without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, which are much greater injuries than what the Rockets are dealing with, in terms of star-level players. One small (but key) caveat on the injury front is that the Rockets found out on short notice that Durant would miss both Games 1 and 3 of the series. 

Yet and still, the Rockets weren't going to get sympathy by way of the injury excuse. Again, the Lakers are playing without their best two players. Meaning, the Rockets have more talent on the floor.

And especially young talent. Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard were all top-four draft picks. And Alperen Sengun is a two time All-Star. 

And the Rockets needed to win Game 3, as they trailed 0-2 heading into the contest. Teams that lose the first three games of a postseason series and fall 0-3 have never came back and won the series. 

The Rockets needed to be aggressive and set the tone early. Jabari Smith Jr. got the memo.

He hit big three after big three and was Houston's only reliable outside shooter in the game. Smith went 6-of-10 from deep.

The Rockets went 11-of-39 as a collective ball club -- good for just 28.2 percent from deep. Smith scored 24 points on 8-of-16 from the field, good for 71.1 percent true shooting and 68.8 percent effective shooting -- both of which were team bests.

Granted, Smith committed a massive turnover that likely overshadowed his performance, in the eyes of most. With the Rockets up 101-95, with just 27 seconds remaining on the shot clock, Smith turned the ball over, giving the Lakers possession and an opportunity to chip away at the lead, which they immediately did on the next possession. 

In fact, the Lakers took the game to overtime and pulled out a victory. But we can't overlook Smith's performance, especially after telling Durant that he needed to be better against double teams after Game 2.