LeBron James made the shot everyone will remember: the tying three late in regulation, the kind of moment that makes a short-handed team feel inevitable for a few seconds.
But the Lakers' 112-108 overtime win over Houston was not just a LeBron rescue. It was a Marcus Smart game, and that matters because Los Angeles is trying to survive a first-round series without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Smart's line was not decorative: 21 points, 10 assists, five steals, and eight points in overtime. That is the profile of a player giving a team temporary structure. He did not merely fill minutes. He gave the Lakers a way to get through the game after the game had already stretched past their cleanest plan.
That is what stood out. LeBron supplied the force. Smart supplied the connective tissue: pressure on the ball, decisions on the other end, enough scoring late to keep Houston from turning overtime into a second chance.
The Lakers now lead the series 3-0, which can make everything look simple after the fact. It was not simple. Houston was without Kevin Durant, yes, but the Lakers were also missing two of their primary guards. In that version of the roster, Smart's job becomes bigger than his box-score slot. He has to organize, irritate, improvise and finish possessions that would normally belong to someone else.
Rui Hachimura's 22 points and 4-for-7 shooting from three helped stretch the floor. LeBron's 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists gave Los Angeles the star weight it still needs. Smart gave the Lakers the tone of the overtime.
That is the difference between escaping and having an answer. LeBron made sure the Lakers got five more minutes. Smart made those five minutes belong to Los Angeles.