LA Lakers LeBron James
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The Los Angeles Lakers bungled the chance to advance to the next round after losing to the Houston Rockets heavily in their Western Conference first-round matchup, 115-96. The Lakers still lead the series 3-1 although the Purple and Gold need to play wiser basketball moving forward.

A key area that doomed the Lakers in Game 4 was their turnovers. The team had 23 turnovers compared to the Rockets 19. Of that error total, LeBron James accounted for eight of them. The four-time Most Valuable Player was aware of this and took accountability for the loss.

'It started with me, obviously,' James said after the loss in a report by ESPN. 'My turnovers were unacceptable.'

The Lakers should have known better, aware that the Rockets would not surrender Game 4 without a fight. Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun joined hands to lead Houston with 23, 20 and 19 points respectively, allowing the Rockets to live for another day.

Controversial Ejections Raise Officiating Questions

While it helped that the Lakers played badly, the game was not spared from controversy. The game was a heated one and saw the ejection of several players. Among those who were ejected were DeAndre Ayton, Adou Thiero of the Lakers and Aaron Holiday of the Rockets.

Ayton was thrown out of the game after picking up a Flagrant Foul 2 against Sengun. A video of that play can be watched below.

For his part, Ayton was a bit surprised at being assessed an F2. In the video, it appeared he did hit Sengun with his forearm. However, the former top pick reasoned that his arm slipped and inadvertently hit the Turkish player.

'We both are sweaty guys,' Ayton said. '[My arm] just slipped off his shoulder. ... I'm not no guy who is a dirty player or who plays like that.'

James concurred with Ayton's defence. He believed it was unintentional and cost the Lakers since the 27-year-old centre was having a good game. Ayton finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds before his ejection.

Sengun's Uncanny Reaction To Ayton Ejection

Ironically, Sengun gave a surprising reaction to the ejection of Ayton. He admitted that even he was surprised at the decision of the officials to eject the Lakers center, admitting the hit was a little bit soft.

'I don't want to make the officials crazy, but I mean, I didn't expect them to eject him to be honest,' Sengun said. 'I think it was a little bit soft. ... I guess it is what it is, they called it. I'm glad they called it. So, we go from there.'

Thiero's Ejection Puzzles Bron

While James admitted his faults and gave his insights on the Ayton ejection, he was not too pleased with the ejection of his rookie teammate Thiero. Thiero and Holiday were banished after an altercation during a rebound play.

'I'm more pissed off about them kicking Adou out. That was uncalled for, and it made no sense. To think that's his first time he's ever been thrown out of a game in his life. I don't think that was warranted. Give him two technicals, the kid just got in the game, that was ridiculous,' James rued.

The Lakers get another chance to close out the series when they host the Rockets at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, 29 April. Another win by the Rockets could shift the momentum in their favour.

Winning Game 4 was huge for the Rockets although the odds still slightly favour the Lakers heading into Game 5. The Lakers are favoured at -2.5 with -115 odds and sit at -145 on the moneyline per USA Today.

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