Swanson: Lakers need another ageless LeBron James performance after Game 5 loss - BERITAJA

So that Game 3 overtime triumph Friday successful Houston was fun, huh?

The Lakers needed it, of course. The Lakers wanted it.

The Lakers are paying for it.

Because LeBron James looked superhuman since playing those 45 minutes, including each 5 gutsy minutes of ovetime.

He hasn’t looked great.

Not moreover peculiarly good, not by his lofty standards.

And the Lakers request their not-quite-ageless wonderment to beryllium astatine slightest awesome to hit these Houston Rockets 1 much time. They request James’ champion can-you-believe-he’s-41? enactment if they dream to adjacent retired this challenging best-of-seven first-round bid without Luka Doncic.

The Lakers went up 3-0 mostly acknowledgment to James’ contributions.

After weeks of willingly playing third-wheeling down Doncic and Austin Reaves, James made it look for illustration playing the alpha was for illustration riding a motorcycle successful Game 1’s 107-98 victory: He sewage correct connected it and gave the Lakers 19 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds.

Then James had 28 points successful the 101-94 triumph successful Game 2. And location was his monster effort successful Game 3, erstwhile he had 29 points and 13 assists and, successful overtime, a cardinal bargain and artifact successful the Lakers’ 112-108 victory.

But James has been overmuch much mortal successful the 2 games since, and the Lakers person mislaid both.

With a chance to decorativeness disconnected the Rockets successful Game 4 connected Sunday astatine the Toyota Center, James had almost arsenic galore turnovers arsenic points: 8 and 10, respectively.

With a 2nd chance to decorativeness disconnected the Rockets successful Game 5 astatine Crypto.com Arena connected Wednesday, contempt a 2nd time of rest, James had a jagged capacity that looked for illustration a batch of activity successful the Lakers’ 99-93 loss.

He had a game-high 25 points connected nine-of-20 shooting, but he missed each six of his three-point attempts. He smoked layups. And missed 3 of his 10 free-throws, short connected those attempts for illustration he was connected galore of his misses Wednesday.

And while he had only 2 turnovers, they were the type to move a tide, the type we’re not accustomed to witnessing from James. That type the Lakers can’t spend for him to make.

If he were a quarterback, he could person been called for intentional grounding, he overthrew Rui Hachimura by truthful overmuch successful the 2nd quarter, erstwhile the Lakers were trying — and failing — to bent onto their early lead.

And past James sewage rhe shot ripped distant from him by Reed Sheppard, the Rockets’ 21-year-old, allegedly 6-foot-2 guard, who raced up the tribunal for a accelerated break dunk pinch 2:22 to play. That made it 92-85 and efficaciously doused the Lakers’ comeback.

“Just bang-bang plays,” James said astatine his locker, pinch a shrug. “Try to flush this 1 … we sewage to beryllium amended connected Friday.”

The Lakers will person conscionable 2 much shots astatine winning a bid they weren’t expected to earlier it started.

Their 3rd effort astatine closing retired the Rockets comes quickly, erstwhile they play Game 6 connected Friday astatine Houston. The Lakers will request thing resembling the champion type of James if they’re going to triumph and debar the spectacle of a Game 7 showdown Sunday.

That would bring the Lakers to the brink of becoming the first squad successful NBA history to rustle a 3-0 bid lead. It would beryllium an unavoidable blotch astatine the bottommost of James’ 23-season resume that different is highlighted by a 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors successful the 2016 NBA Finals.

But James and the Lakers aren’t reasoning about that now — aliases about immoderate chatter is coming retired of the Rockets’ now-confident campy (on Tuesday, Jabari Smith Jr. told reporters “We’re evidently the amended team.”)

“Ask 1 of them young guys that question,” James said, unmoved. “I’m excessively aged for that [expletive].”

But not excessively aged — the Lakers dream — to transportation them to 1 much triumph and prevention them from infamy.