LeBron James Fires Back at Rockets' ‘Better Team' Comment After Game 5 Loss
Last night, LeBron James and the Lakers had the perfect opportunity to advance past the Houston Rockets with a Game 5 win in Los Angeles.
Not only was Kevin Durant still absent for the Rockets with injury concerns, but Austin Reaves was back in the Lakers’ lineup after missing weeks with an oblique injury. The stage was set for King James and company to win the series 4-1 and advance to the second round.
However, the Houston Rockets had other plans, winning 99-93 at Los Angeles. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points, with Tari Eason adding another 19 to help stave off elimination and send it back to Houston for Game 6.
Ahead of the game, Smith even provided some potential pre-game fuel to fire up the Lakers for a win, claiming that the Rockets were “obviously the better team.”
More news:Charles Barkley Sends Warning to LeBron James, Lakers for Playoffs
LeBron led the Lakers with 25 points, while Reaves came off the bench to contribute 22 points, six assists, and four rebounds in the losing effort.
After the game, reporters asked LeBron how he’d respond to Smith’s remark about the Rockets being the “better team,” to give his Lakers teammates maybe more confidence when playing against them.
“I don’t care about [expletive] like that, bro,” LeBron said. “The game is won between the four lines. I don’t give a damn. Who cares? Of course, you say that. Why would you say, ‘No, we’re not the better team.'”
“Ask one of them young guys that question. I’m too old for that [expletive],” he told reporters from the locker room.
The Rockets were the better team in several areas. While they shot only slightly better than the Lakers, they hit 14 three-pointers, while the Lakers went 7-for-27 from long distance.
Along with that, Houston had 10 turnovers compared to 15 for the Lakers. Despite the Lakers charging out to a first-quarter lead, the Rockets outscored them in the second and third quarters to take over.
LeBron also admitted the Rockets played “extremely hard” and “hit some shots today,” with contributions from a lot of players who hadn’t hit many shots in the series. However, he said there’s not much time to focus on this loss, so they’ll get on the plan and move on to the next game.
“Try to flush this one. We gotta learn from our mistakes. We made some mistakes tonight. Too many unforced mistakes. So we gotta be better,” he said.
LeBron also praised having teammate Austin Reaves back in the lineup. He said he missed a few jump shots, but that can happen after not playing for a month. However, he said with Reaves, they’ll now have another person to act as a ball handler and scoring option.
It’s just one day for LeBron and the Lakers to move on, bounce back, and show who’s better. Game 6 arrives on Friday night in Houston at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time with coverage on Amazon’s Prime Video.
More news:Cade Cunningham Makes History in Pistons' Game 6 Win Over Magic
For more about the NBA, head over to Newsweek Sports.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 7:19 AM.