Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka had a strong two-word message for his team following their Game 3 collapse against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
The Rockets were in control and leading the game by six points with 30 seconds remaining. It looked like they were going to be able to pull out a win after dropping two straight to start the series.
But, the Rockets made several costly errors down the stretch and ultimately ended up losing the game in overtime to fall behind in the series 0-3.
Ime Udoka tells Rockets to ‘grow up’ after Game 3 loss to Lakers
After the game, Udoka didn’t hold back when it came to admonishing his young core. He delivered a poignant message with just two words.
“Grow up,” Udoka told his team. “You’re not that young anymore.”
A pair of turnovers and an inopportune foul in the closing seconds of the contest ultimately cost Houston the victory, and Udoka wasn’t sure if the mistakes were the result of inexperience, fear or both.
“Horrendous mistakes,” Udoka said. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case.
“It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” Udoka added. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious, and you can’t have those.”
Things look pretty bleak for Houston now. They sit just one loss away from a second-straight first-round elimination and history isn’t on their side. No team in NBA history has ever come back in a seven-game series after being down 0-3.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible, just that it’s never been done before. But to be honest, the 2025-26 Houston Rockets don’t feel like the team that’s going to be the first to do so.
If the Rockets go on to lose to the Lakers, which feels like an inevitability at this point, Udoka’s job security could become a question over the offseason.
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