Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was not happy with the application of his team in their 114-110 defeat at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Going up against the team bottom of the Western Conference and on a run of four wins from their previous five, the Lakers had been hoping to give their playoff hunt another boost in Houston.
However, with a depleted side, they were unable to do so, allowing seven Rockets players to end the game with double figures at Toyota Center.
"We've talked about it and I've said it before games, after games, non-game days: energy, effort and urgency," Ham said after the loss. "And I thought coming out of the gates that kind of was non-existent.
"It's a product of us not being good on the ball. That individual pride it takes to keep the ball in front and guys behind you knowing that the paint is the priority. This team lives in the paint. The Houston Rockets live in the paint... And we preached that to them before the game."
The Lakers were without LeBron James (foot), Anthony Davis (foot) and Mo Bamba (ankle), with recent recruit from the Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura starting.
Ham was mostly critical of his defense, saying: "When you struggle defensively and you're playing against a set defense, the offense is going to struggle. You're not going to be able to be in a good rhythm."
He added: "I mean, it's the NBA. If you're not cut out for this, you're in the wrong business. I love it, personally. Would I rather have a sound and secure spot in the postseason? Yeah. Who wouldn't? But our circumstances are what they are."
The Lakers sit 10th in the Western Conference, just inside the play-in places on 34-36.
D'Angelo Russell, who scored 18 points with seven assists, pointed to the lack of star power available to them, recalling the days of Kobe Bryant.
"I mean, I'm not going to go against [the] coach. He obviously sees that as well. I agree," Russell said. "But when LeBron is playing, we're a different offensive team. When [Davis] is playing, we're a different offensive team. I compare it to with Kobe [Bryant].
"He was on his way out and he didn't practice a lot and we had a practice group in there at practice and ran the plays and did all that. But when Kobe would play, everything we practiced on kind of went down the drain. We kind of had to adjust. So, it's similar to that."
Butler after Heat lose again: 'The last two games are not who we are'
Jimmy Butler is confident the Miami Heat will rediscover their form as they aim to clinch a place in the NBA Finals.
Miami lost 110-97 to the Boston Celtics on Thursday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, cutting their lead in the series to 3-2.
Boston head into Game 6 within two wins of making NBA history – no team has ever come from 3-0 down to win a seven-game series.
Butler, though, still has faith the Heat will join the Denver Nuggets in the Finals.
"The last two games are not who we are," he said. "It just happened to be that way.
"We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn't make shots that we want to make. But that's easily correctable.
"You just have to come out and play harder from the jump. Like I always say, it's going to be all smiles, and we are going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we are going to win next game.
"We've just got to play better. Start the game off better, on the starters, make it more difficult for them.
"They are in a rhythm since the beginning of the game. But we are always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win this series. We'll just have to close it out at home."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, meanwhile, was in bullish form when he spoke to the media.
"Who cares about mood?" Spoelstra said.
"We have a gnarly group. I think so much of that is overrated. It's a competitive series. You always expect things to be challenging in the conference finals.
"One game doesn't lead to the next game. Based on all the experience that we've had, it doesn't matter in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if you lose by whatever.
"We beat them by whatever in Game 3. It just doesn't matter. It's about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We'll play much better on Saturday. That's all we just have to focus on right now."
'We stayed together' – Brown lauds Celtics' unity as history beckons
Jaylen Brown hailed the Boston Celtics' unity after they beat the Miami Heat 110-97 to force Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Having staved off elimination with a win in Game 4, the Celtics never trailed in Game 5 on Thursday as they cut Miami's lead to 3-2.
Boston will now aim to level the series in Miami on Saturday. Should they complete a remarkable turnaround, they will be the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, after 150 previous sides failed to do so.
Brown, who contributed 21 points to Celtics' total, explained the team could not have been at a lower ebb after losing the first three games of the series.
"Our back has been against the wall. Obviously, we didn't imagine being in this position, being down 3-0, but when adversity hits, you get to see what a team is really made of," he said.
"It couldn't get worse than being down 3-0, but we didn't look around, we didn't go in separate directions. We stayed together."
Only three teams have managed to take a series to Game 7 after losing the opening three games, the last of which was the Portland Trail Blazers in 2003.
"For some odd reason, even last year, we always seemed to make it a little bit tougher on ourselves," added Jayson Tatum, who had a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists.
"What I do know is that you can see the true character of a person, of a team, when things aren't going well, and our ability to come together, figure things out when it's not necessarily looking good for us.
"It's unlike any team I've been on this year and last year, just the core group of guys being able to respond.
"I think that's just a testament to our togetherness, obviously how bad we want it, and we've got a room full of determined, tough guys that push comes to shove, you look to the left and the right of you, believe that the guy next to you is going to do whatever it takes and go down fighting if it doesn't work out."
Looking ahead to Game 6, Brown is under no illusions of the scale of the task at hand.
"It's going to take everything," he said.
"It's going to be a dogfight. I imagine those guys will play better than they played tonight, and they're going to come out aggressive. We've got to be ready to take their punch at home. We've got to be ready to be resilient and come out and do what we're supposed to do."
Celtics avoid elimination again, rout Heat to force Game 6
Derrick White led with 24 points and the Boston Celtics never trailed in a 110-97 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday to stave off elimination and force Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Boston scored 20 of the game's first 25 points and held a comfortable lead the rest of the way to cut the series deficit to 3-2.
The Celtics will try to prolong their season again when the series moves back to Miami for Game 6 on Saturday.
They are two wins away from becoming the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series after 150 previous teams failed to do so.
Marcus Smart had 23 points and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown added 21 apiece in Boston's second consecutive strong shooting performance.
The Celtics shot over 50 percent from the field and were 16 of 39 from 3-point range, including White going 6 of 8.
Boston are 34 of 84 from deep the past two games after going 31 for 106 in the first three games of the series.
Duncan Robinson led Miami with 18 points off the bench, while Jimmy Butler was held to 14 - his lowest total of the postseason.
The Heat committed 10 first-half turnovers and trailed 61-44 at the break.
Miami point guard Gabe Vincent sat out with a sprained left ankle and was replaced in the starting lineup by Kyle Lowry, who had five points and four turnovers in 30 minutes.
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