The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the more dramatic wins of the first round on Friday night, coming back from six points down in the final 30 seconds to force overtime and eventually outlasting the Houston Rockets 112-108 at Toyota Center.
It was a solid performance all around, with LeBron James dropping 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists while Marcus Smart closed it out with 21 points and 10 assists.
But while most of the post-game conversation centered on the comeback, one moment from the broadcast had FOX Sports analyst Rob Parker fired up for a completely different reason.
FOX Sports’ Rob Parker Tears Into Bronny James Interview
Parker took strong exception to the decision to interview Bronny James at halftime of Game 3, especially given what Rui Hachimura had just done in the first quarter. Here is exactly what Parker had to say on FOX Sports:
“How does Bronny get interviewed at the half for five points? I’m serious. It’s a playoff game, and don’t get me wrong, like seriously, Rui started the game, Rob G, six for six, 16 points, and they interview Bronny at the half. Why? Rob G, am I, why? He had five points!”
“Come on, man. This is what I’m saying. I mean, the only answer is because he, his first five playoff points. Okay, all right. I just, I’m done. Rui started six for six, 16 points, and Bronny gets interviewed at the half.”
It is hard to argue with Parker’s logic on pure basketball grounds. Hachimura had one of the most dominant first quarters of his postseason on Friday night, opening the game with a perfect six-for-six from the field to put up 16 points in the first quarter.
He helped give the Lakers a seven-point lead going into the second, and finished the night with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.
READ MORE: ‘Unreal,’ ‘APOLOGIZE!’: NBA World Reacts to Bronny James’ Career Night in Lakers-Rockets Game 3
James, on the other hand, played nine minutes off the bench and finished with five points, going two-for-two from the field, including a three-pointer. There is no denying that those were meaningful moments, particularly the historic father-son alley-oop connection in the second quarter.
LeBron found Bronny running toward the rim and floated a perfect lob that the 21-year-old hauled in for a reverse layup, marking the first father-son scoring connection in NBA playoff history.
Those are the kinds of story lines that the media lives for, and that is essentially Parker’s whole point. The halftime interview slot is one of the most-watched windows of any broadcast, and the decision to use it on James instead of Hachimura was not made because of what happened on the stat sheet.
It was made because of the name on the back of the jersey and the narrative surrounding the James family, and Parker is not buying that as a valid reason in a playoff game where winning and losing actually matter.
The Lakers now lead the series 3-0, and Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday night at Toyota Center. The scales have tipped in the Lakers’ favor now, which was deemed nearly impossible when Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves were sidelined a few weeks ago.
