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Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said the mood in the locker room was simple after the 98-78 Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center. “Everybody’s disappointed. No doubt,” he said, after Houston shot just 35% and saw its season end in the first round for the second straight year.
The Rockets had won two straight after falling into a 0-3 hole, but they could not carry that momentum into the closeout opportunity. Udoka said, “We all thought we’d be taking it back for Game 7,” before adding, “Shoot 35% and only score 78, obviously you’re not going to win.”
Los Angeles also did enough defensively to take Houston out of its rhythm, holding the Rockets to a season low in points. Udoka acknowledged the gap between the two teams’ efficiency on the night, saying, “Even if you defend the way we did, giving up 98 and them shooting only 40%, on any average night it’s a comfortable win.”
The Rockets’ offense stalled when the Lakers switched more aggressively and removed the driving lanes that Houston had used to create advantages earlier in the series. “A lot of our stuff got a little stagnant at times,” Udoka said. “Then we didn’t offensive rebound, we didn’t play with pace, all the things we did in the last two games to get advantages.”
Houston had been one of the league’s better rebounding teams all season, but the final two games of the series flipped that edge. Udoka pointed to the Lakers’ work on the glass, saying, “Last game being our second worst of the year with only six, and then I think we might have got eight tonight. Just way too low for us.”
The Rockets also missed the steady scoring Kevin Durant could have provided. “It was definitely evident tonight,” Udoka said. “You want a 25, 26 point scorer on the floor the way he does it, to avoid some of these nights when other guys are struggling.”
Udoka did not absolve the roster, but he stressed that the growth from Houston’s young core was still real. “A lot of guys had a ton of improvement, no doubt,” he said. “Jabari obviously showed tremendous growth. Alperen being an All-Star again. Tari through the ups and downs.”
Still, the coach said consistency remains the biggest step for the group. “That’s just some of the ups and downs with it,” he said. “Consistency is the biggest key, especially with young guys.”
Looking ahead to the offseason, Udoka made clear that roster construction will be a priority. “I’ll get to it ASAP,” he said when asked about sitting down with general manager Rafael Stone.
