Lakers are playing with fire as they head into Game 6 vs. Rockets

The Rockets' young core deserves its flowers: sweet-shooting Jabari Smith Jr., hardworking wingman Tari Eason and Houston's resident energizer bunny Amen Thompson, among others. There's no denying, though, that the Lakers haven't been the same team that they were in the first three games of this series.

Two issues stick out for Lakers

For one, the Lakers' three-point shooting has gone cold in Games 4 and 5. After converting on 46.1% of their threes from Games 1 through 3, the purple and gold squad made just 24.5% of their outside shots in their two losses to the Rockets. 

The performance of Luke Kennard, who was the breakout star at the start of this series, just about sums up this decline: Over the last two games, Kennard has taken five three-point attempts and made none. He went 9-of-17 over the first three games.

The Lakers also picked a bad time to be sloppy with the ball. In Game 4, their first opportunity to send the Rockets packing, they committed a whopping 24 turnovers, the most of either team in this series thus far. That night, Houston logged 30 points off turnovers and won by 19 to stave off elimination.

Heading into Game 5, the writing was still on the wall for the Rockets: Austin Reaves' return was imminent, and the Lakers would be backed by a home crowd calling for a gentleman's sweep. Although naysayers have doubted the Rockets' maturity and composure for quite some time now, it was the visiting squad who constantly frustrated the Lakers' shooters with closeouts and made the biggest plays down the stretch against veterans like James and Marcus Smart.

Now, instead of getting some time to rest before a blockbuster second-round duel against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers will have to once again enter the hostile environment of Toyota Center this Friday night. The Rockets' season is still on the line, but momentum has shifted to their side while the pressure of closing out the series weighs heavily on the Lakers' shoulders.

There's no Kevin Durant for the Rockets in Game 6, but there's no margin for error as far as the Lakers are concerned. The fire that they should have put out in Game 4 might engulf their playoff stint and land their storied franchise on the wrong side of history.