EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — That was close. A little too close for the Lakers as a 23-point lead evaporated into a way-too-slender five-point edge in the final minute.
But the Lakers’ day was saved when Alex Caruso nailed a three-pointer with 35.2 seconds left to play.
That’s right. Undrafted, former G-League denizen Alex Caruso.
Caruso calmly hit the shot from the right corner to help the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 110-100, in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.
He finished with 16 points Thursday, a sure-fire catalyst as the Lakers took a solid 3-1 series edge.
Then he said this wasn’t the biggest shot of his career. After all, he once hit a game-winner in an AAU tournament when he was younger.
He was joking.
This was easily his biggest contribution in a career that definitely hadn’t been the NBA norm.
Caruso, 26, went undrafted after four years at Texas A&M and then spent a year with Oklahoma City’s G-League team. The Lakers invited him to play on their summer-league team in 2017 and, after he prospered there, signed him to a two-year, two-way contract in which he played some of the time for the Lakers but mostly for their G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
Finally, Caruso was signed to a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Lakers themselves last summer.
It paid off this season as Caruso established himself as a fierce defender. Then it paid off in the points column Thursday.
Caruso wasn’t the only Laker to excel in Game 4.
Anthony Davis (29 points) dominated down low as the Lakers outscored the undersized Rockets in the paint by a whopping 62-24 margin.
LeBron James was one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. Rajon Rondo continued his solid string of games with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 29 minutes.
Meanwhile, James Harden was off the mark for the Rockets, making only two of 11 shots on the way to a quiet 21 points.
The Lakers cruised through the first three quarters but got careless with the ball late in the game, committing five turnovers as Houston’s offense finally heated up.
It was too little too late for the Rockets. The Lakers are a victory away from going to the West finals for the first time since 2010.