The two elder statesmen of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James and Marcus Smart, had shouldered the load of a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback against the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of that first-round series, performing with the ideal blend of poise and desperation.

In the aftermath of the Lakers’ 112-108 overtime road victory, a win that provided the Lakers a 3-0 series lead and an opportunity to complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday, James was asked how he and his teammates mustered the gumption to dig deep and outlast the younger, healthier, and presumably hungrier Rockets.

James answered a question with a question.

“What else are we going to do?” James said. “We don’t have the luxury of thinking about another game. We have to be in the moment.

“I keep harping on it: we are missing some very important pieces to our ballclub. We don’t have the luxury of being passive or being complacent. Our whole mindset is we have to do everything it takes in that particular game, in that particular moment, in that particular possession in order for us to win basketball games because we don’t have a long leash or a lot of room for error.”

Initially left for dead without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) — the latter is listed as questionable for Game 4 — the Lakers continue to defy the odds in both grand and minute ways. James (29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists) and Smart (21 points, 10 rebounds, five steals) were Herculean throughout Game 3, yet more was required in the waning moments, with the Rockets leading 101-95 and in possession with 30 seconds left.

Smart duped Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. into throwing an ill-advised pass, nabbed the ball, and drew a critical foul on Jae’Sean Tate while attempting a 3-pointer. Smart sank all three free throws to shave the deficit in half, and James followed by forcing a backcourt turnover on the ensuing Houston possession before drilling a trey with 13.6 seconds left to force overtime.

The Lakers coughed up a 15-point lead. Their hot shooting in the first half cooled considerably. But just when the Lakers appeared stuck in the mud, they discovered what was needed to survive. And after creating a second opportunity, the Lakers seized it in the extra period.

“Everything that we needed to do, even when it wasn’t pretty, we just found a way to do it,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We’re playing hard. You have to do that to put yourself in a position to win.

“There are some things that we can execute better, but I thought from the beginning of the game we played with a sense of desperation, and we played like a team that was down (in the series).”

The Rockets were without their leading scorer, Kevin Durant, in Game 3. He is listed as questionable for Game 4 with Durant desperately treating the ankle sprain he sustained late in Game 2. Without Durant, the Rockets started the second-youngest lineup in a playoff game since starters were tracked in 1970-71, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That youth was evident late.

Smith and Reed Sheppard committed baffling turnovers. The Rockets failed to run the correct play after James’ game-tying 3. The Rockets are a whopping plus-63 in field goal attempts in the series, but they’ve shot 28.7% from behind the arc. Houston has squandered its chances.

There is no precedent for a team rallying from an 0-3 series deficit. The Rockets will be challenged to get off the mat facing that history.

“Disappointed with the ending,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Some good things before that … so you’re doing some good things with the opportunity. But now you’ve got to go get one on Sunday.

“Don’t let this one beat you twice.”

–Field Level Media

It might not get much better than this for English brothers Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick.

The duo began to break away from the pack by shooting a tournament-record 15-under 57 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Saturday at Avondale, La.

“I think I can think of one bad shot that we both hit, and that was me,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, it was an awesome day.”

The Fitzpatricks were sparked by Matt’s eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and maintained the momentum during the four-ball format to carry a four-stroke lead into the final round at TPC Louisiana. This is the PGA Tour’s only team event.

The Fitzpatrick team is at 30 under. Davis Thompson/Austin Eckroat (61) and second-round leaders Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer (62) are next at 26 under. The team of Doug Ghim/Jeffrey Kang (61) is at 25 under.

The Fitzpatrick brothers could be headed toward special territory given that last year’s winning score was 28 under from the team of Ben Griffin/Andrew Novak.

“He played brilliant golf both of the last two days,” Matt said of this brother. “His game has really turned a corner these last few months, and I believe in him to continue that trend.”

The Fitzpatricks posted birdies on eight of the nine holes on the backside. They were without a bogey and had four pars.

They each provided the best score seven times.

Matt Fitzpatrick, the older of the brothers, has been on a roll recently, including winning last week’s RBC Heritage.

“Playing alongside my brother, who happens also to be one of the best players in the world is pretty fun,” Alex said. “When he’s playing well, it’s pretty cool to watch.”

The Fitzpatricks placed 11th in the Zurich Classic in 2024 and then missed the cut last year.

The format goes back to foursomes for the final round.

“Your mindset is kind of changed from day-to-day, so (Sunday) will be a different animal,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we can get off to a good start and put some pressure on those guys.”

Smalley said there won’t be an overhaul in strategy.

“I think if we just kind of stick to what we’re doing, just trying to give ourselves as many looks as we can,” he said. “I think that will serve us pretty well.”

The teams pursuing the Fitzpatricks don’t want to become overly consumed by the chase.

“At the end of the day, you have to hit your good shots and try to pick up after your partner if you need to,” Kang said.

Seven teams were in the lead or one shot back by mid-afternoon Saturday.

Then there was the case of Davis Chatfield and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart. They were 9 under through 11 holes after Dumont de Chassart ‘s eagle on No. 2, which was the pairing’s 11th hole of the day. But they played the rest of the way at 1 over without another birdie.

Until some of the final groups came in, the day’s best score of 61 belonged to Canada’s A.J. Ewart and South Africa’s Casey Jarvis. That moved them to 22 under and in a tie for 10th place.

“Kind of ham-and-egged it, as some would say,” Ewart said. “Kind of working in shifts and not birdieing the same holes, but making sure we’re setting our partners up to kind of free will it and go at it.”

–Field Level Media

Top-seeded Aryna Sabaleka improved to 25-1 in 2026 and moved into the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Saturday with a routine 6-1, 6-4 victory over 29th-seeded Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.

Sabalenka has moved seamlessly onto the clay after a dominant early hard court season. The Belarussian captured the “Sunshine Double” in March, winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Her lone loss occurred in the finals of the Australian Open, where she fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.

Cristian did have four break point chances to go ahead 4-2 in the second set, but Sabalenka wiped them all away, then broke her opponent and 4-4 and will now face Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the next round.

Osaka cruised past Anhelina Kalinina, 6-1, 6-3. She constantly put pressure on the Ukrainian’s service, winning nearly 50% while receiving and breaking six times.

The two WTA Tour veterans have only met twice, splitting their encounters, with Sabalenka prevailing, 6-2, 6-4 in the same round at Indian Wells.

No. 31 Ann Li recorded the biggest upset of the day, defeating fourth-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, but not in manner either player was totally satisfied with. Li led, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 3-0 when Swiatek had to retire due to illness.

“Defintely knew it was going to be a tough match, I’m super sorry for her that she’s had to pull out, it’s never easy to go like that,” said Li. “I was just super proud of the way that I fought and I pushed through.”

Ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi. Like Osaka, Andreeva feasted on her opponent’s serve, winning 42 of 75 (56.0%) of her returns.

Andreeva improved to 9-1 on the clay in 2026.

“Clay is such a special surface,” said Andeeva. “You really have to adjust your game.”

In other third-round matches, No. 30 Hayley Baptiste upset eighth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini, 7-5, 6-3; Switzerland’s No. 11 Belinda Benic edged Russia’s No. 18 Diana Shnaider, 6-2, 7-6 (6); Hungary’s Anna Bondar eliminated Czechia’s Laura Samson, 7-6 (3), 6-1 and Canada’s No. 24 Leylah Fernandez got post 15th-seeded Iva Jovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours, eight minutes.

Fernandez broke Jovic three times in the final set to advance to the fourth round, where she will face Li.

–Field Level Media