While the Los Angeles Lakers gained a 3-0 series lead on Friday night at Toyota Center, the Houston Rockets’ chances of advancing look bleak, and one of their most vocal critics doubled down on the comments he’d made about Houston’s chemistry earlier this week.
The Rockets’ postseason run has turned into a nightmare against a shorthanded Lakers squad. Following the overtime collapse on Friday night, one NBA champion-turned-analyst made sure to remind everyone that he saw this coming from a mile away.
Kendrick Perkins Reacts After Rockets’ Game 3 Collapse Against the Lakers
Despite playing a Lakers squad still missing Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, Houston failed to put Los Angeles away.
Even with Kevin Durant sidelined once again, this time due to a left ankle sprain, the Rockets were in a promising position to secure a victory late in regulation.
However, the team completely collapsed down the stretch, allowing a 41-year-old LeBron James to bury a contested, game-tying 3-pointer in the dying seconds to force overtime.
The Lakers went on to seal a 112-108 overtime win, leaving the Rockets completely demoralized and facing the possibility of a humiliating first-round sweep.
As James and Co. celebrated their 3-0 series lead, Kendrick Perkins took to X to send a three-word message doubling down on his previous criticism: “Don’t mind me.”
Don’t mind me https://t.co/zF6urpXl1e
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 25, 2026
While the Game 3 result was shocking to some, Perkins wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
In fact, he had put the entire Houston organization on blast following their sloppy Game 2 defeat, delivering a scathing, viral rant.
“The Rockets are the dumbest team, and the most selfish team, in the postseason,” Perkins declared. “JJ Redick is coaching his a** off so much that he’s coaching circles around Ime Udoka. We can blame Kevin Durant for those 9 turnovers, but we can also blame Ime Udoka for having Kevin Durant in that position…”
“How about Alperen Sengun? When are you gonna get your big a** down and start playing some damn defense? You’re the center now… what is going on with you,” Perkins continued.
“And then when you look across the board at Ime Udoka and his rotations… you’re one of the worst shooting 3-point teams in the NBA. You shot 7-for-29 from three last night…”
DON’T MISS: ‘Kevin Durant Was Right,’ ‘ROCKETS CHOKED’ – NBA World Rips Houston for Falling to 0-3 vs. Depleted Lakers
No team has ever returned from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history.
The Rockets, for all the early narratives of their postseason chances against a depleted Los Angeles, look disjointed and panicked now.
As Game 4 tips off on Sunday, Houston has little time left to prove its critics wrong and salvage whatever it can before heading into what is looking like an incredibly uncomfortable offseason.
