LeBron James and Alperen Sengun engaged in a war of words during Game 5 of the Rockets-Lakers first-round series on Wednesday. The contest got tense as Houston held a double-digit lead down the stretch to avoid elimination for the second straight game. James tried to give Los Angeles a boost with a strong drive and got fouled.
As he stepped up to the line with a chance to cut the lead to 11, Sengun chirped at him, calling it a soft call. James wasn’t entertaining it as he immediately called out the Rockets center.
“Not you,” James told Sengun. “Anybody else around her but not you. You don’t say that. You don’t say that. You don’t say that. You’re the only person around here not allowed to say that. Soft a** call god.”
James converted the two free throws and had the last laugh in that moment. He also inspired a run after that point and helped the Lakers close the gap to three points.
Alperen Sengun and Rockets come out on top after LeBron James woes from 3 haunt LA
Alperen Sengun and the Rockets came out on top to save their season and force a Game 6 on Wednesday. The Rockets became just the 16th team to do so while being down 0-3. The Lakers looked like the better team for the first one and a half quarters, but the Rockets flipped a switch by taking the lead midway through the second and holding onto it the rest of the way.
LeBron James had a woeful night from the 3-point line as he bricked all six of his attempts. He finished with a team-high 25 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and two turnovers on 9 of 20 shots and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line. James’ biggest misses from long range came in the final minute as he missed one to cut the lead to two with 22 seconds left and another to make it a one-point game.
Meanwhile, Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 5 of 9 shots. Jabari Smith Jr. led with 22. The Rockets outshot the Lakers by seven 3-pointers, which swayed the game in their favor.
