The Rockets lived to fight another day in their first-round playoff series against the Lakers over the weekend. Houston, down 3–0 after a demoralizing and disastrous end to Game 3 , rallied to win in Game 4 and earned a trip back to Los Angeles for Wednesday night’s Game 5 as a reward. The team did so without the talents of Kevin Durant ; the future Hall of Fame scorer was sidelined with an ankle sprain, a new injury after he missed Game 1 with a knee injury. Despite coach Ime Udoka leaving the door open for a potential return, Tuesday brought the dreaded (but expected) news : Durant would miss Game 5, ruled out with his ankle injury over 24 hours before tip. It’s as good a sign as any that KD will not be seen on the court anytime soon. It also means Houston’s fate is in the hands of its young talent. Without Durant, it will be on the young bucks to step up and keep the Rockets’ season alive.…