Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka speaks to media before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets’ fantastic month of March ended on a sour note after a 102-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.

The loss prevented the Rockets from clinching a spot in the top six in the Western Conference, and the frustration comes from the team being so close to a victory.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka explained why the Rockets were unable to walk away with a victory.

“All of the reach-in fouls on (Luka) Dončić early, those things add up,” Udoka said via The Athletic insider Kelly Iko. “Some of the pick-and-pops with (Dorian) Finney-Smith when they were small, out of the six, he had three wide-open corner 3s — and (Gabe) Vincent as well, weak-side help for no reason. You’ll live with a few, but the ones that we shouldn’t have given up made the difference in a game like this. So, keeping our focus.”

This is a valuable lesson for the young Rockets, who are on pace to be in the playoffs in the Western Conference for the first time since 2020. Most of the players in Houston’s postseason rotation weren’t even in the league the last time the Rockets were in the playoffs, so they come in as underdogs in the experience factor.

That being said, the Rockets are picking up these experiences along the way and leaning on former NBA champions Fred VanVleet and Jeff Green to help them navigate the highs and lows that go into a postseason run in the league.