Game ID: 42500173
Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets
Friday, April 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
HOU 32 20 23 26 7 108LAL 39 24 17 21 11 112
HOU vs LAL ScoutingHOU vs LAL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Finney-Smith missed 3 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Newton missed 15 since 3/13, out tonight
HOU availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 4 since 4/05, returns tonight: 21 min (129% of 16)
OUT Newton missed 16 since 3/13, returns tonight: 12 min (100% of 12)
HOU availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restBACK Finney-Smith back 4/12 after 4, 21 min since (129% of 16)
BACK Newton back 4/12 after 16, 12 min since (100% of 12)
HOU availability going into 4/21 · 2 days' restOUT Durant missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 41 min (112% of 36)
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/12 after 4, 21 min since (129% of 16)
BACK Newton back 4/12 after 16, 12 min since (100% of 12)
HOU availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Finney-Smith missed 2 since 4/18, returns tonight: 11 min (67% of 16)
BACK Durant back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 36)
BACK Newton back 4/12 after 16, 12 min since (100% of 12)
NEW Okogie 17 to 24 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restBACK Durant back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 36)
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/12 after 4, 16 min since (98% of 16)
BACK Newton back 4/12 after 16, 12 min since (100% of 12)
NEW Thompson 38 to 44 min over the last 4
NEW Smith Jr. 36 to 41 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restBACK Durant back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 36)
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/12 after 4, 17 min since (105% of 16)
BACK Newton back 4/12 after 16, 12 min since (100% of 12)
NEW Thompson 38 to 44 min over the last 4
NEW Smith Jr. 36 to 42 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Capela missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 2 min (18% of 12)
BACK Durant back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 36)
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/24 after 2, 14 min since (85% of 16)
NEW Thompson 38 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Smith Jr. 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Sengun 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Eason 26 to 32 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Reaves missed 3 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Smart missed 9 since 3/23, returns tonight: 18 min (62% of 29)
OUT Hayes missed 2 since 4/07, out tonight
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/05 after 24, 9 min since (79% of 11)
BACK Kleber back 4/02 after 3, 10 min since (95% of 10)
NEW Kennard 25 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW LaRavia 24 to 31 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Reaves missed 4 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Hayes missed 3 since 4/07, out tonight
BACK Smart back 4/10 after 9, 18 min since (62% of 29)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/05 after 24, 10 min since (89% of 11)
BACK Kleber back 4/02 after 3, 10 min since (99% of 10)
NEW Kennard 25 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW LaRavia 24 to 30 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restOUT Reaves missed 5 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Hayes missed 4 since 4/07, returns tonight: 13 min (71% of 18)
BACK Smart back 4/10 after 9, 22 min since (76% of 29)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/05 after 24, 11 min since (104% of 11)
LAL availability going into 4/21 · 2 days' restOUT Reaves missed 6 since 4/05, out tonight
BACK Smart back 4/10 after 9, 26 min since (88% of 29)
BACK Hayes back 4/18 after 4, 13 min since (71% of 18)
LAL availability going into 4/24 · 2 days' restOUT Reaves missed 7 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Smith Jr. missed 2 since 4/18, returns tonight: 0 min (0% of 11)
OUT Kleber missed 2 since 4/18, out tonight
BACK Smart back 4/10 after 9, 28 min since (97% of 29)
BACK Hayes back 4/18 after 4, 17 min since (95% of 18)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Kennard 25 to 30 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT Reaves missed 8 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Kleber missed 3 since 4/18, returns tonight: 7 min (66% of 10)
BACK Smart back 4/10 after 9, 31 min since (104% of 29)
BACK Hayes back 4/18 after 4, 18 min since (100% of 18)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/24 after 2, 0 min since (0% of 11)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Kennard 25 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restOUT Reaves missed 9 since 4/05, returns tonight: 34 min (97% of 35)
BACK Hayes back 4/18 after 4, 17 min since (96% of 18)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/24 after 2, 4 min since (34% of 11)
BACK Kleber back 4/26 after 3, 7 min since (66% of 10)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Kennard 25 to 34 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restBACK Reaves back 4/29 after 9, 34 min since (97% of 35)
BACK Hayes back 4/18 after 4, 16 min since (88% of 18)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/24 after 2, 4 min since (34% of 11)
BACK Kleber back 4/26 after 3, 7 min since (66% of 10)
NEW James 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Hachimura 30 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Smart 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Kennard 25 to 38 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 5/05 · 3 days' restOUT Kleber missed 2 since 4/29, out tonight
BACK Reaves back 4/29 after 9, 32 min since (93% of 35)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/24 after 2, 4 min since (32% of 11)
NEW Hachimura 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Smart 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Kennard 25 to 36 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 29 from three, 26 free throws a game; Durant at 28 and Thompson at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. Without Finney-Smith (2 straight). 2 days' rest. The Lakers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 95, shooting 55 percent and 48 from three, 22 free throws a game; James at 24 and Kennard at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Reaves (7 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 48 percent from three to Houston's 29 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Houston 111, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/10 vs MIN 132-136 — HOU notes
HOU lost 132-136. HOU shot 61% (53 of 87) to MIN's 57%, 4 of 19 from three. HOU turned it over 12 times to MIN's 7. The glass went 39-25 for them. Thompson led with 41 (17 of 22, 7 of 7 at the line); Durant added 33, Sengun 22. Q2 was theirs, 37-32, turning a 1-point deficit into a 4-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 104-95 against them. They led by as many as 10. Sheppard's -17 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs MEM 132-101 — HOU notes
HOU won 132-101. HOU shot 46% (48 of 105) to MEM's 41%, 14 of 49 from three, and went to the line 30 times to MEM's 10 — 22 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 64-37 for them. Capela led with 23 (9 of 11, 4 of 7 at the line); Eason added 20, Sheppard 19. The hinge was Q2, 34-19: a lead of 6 became 21, and the lead reached 39. Capela was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/18 @ LAL 98-107 — HOU notes
HOU lost 98-107. HOU took 27 more shots (93 to 66), fed by 21 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to LAL's 61%, 11 of 33 from three. HOU turned it over 13 times to LAL's 18. Sengun led with 19 (6 of 19, 7 of 9 at the line); Thompson added 17, Sheppard 17. Q2 was theirs, 19-17, the deficit cut from 4 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 90-79 against them. Okogie's -10 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/21 @ LAL 94-101 — HOU notes
HOU lost 94-101. HOU took 17 more shots (89 to 72), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to LAL's 46%, 7 of 29 from three, and got to the line 19 times to LAL's 28. Durant led with 23 (7 of 12, 1 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Sengun added 20, Smith Jr. 18. Q2 was theirs, 25-21, the deficit cut from 7 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 80-69 against them. Smith Jr.'s -11 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/24 vs LAL 108-112 — HOU notes
HOU lost 108-112 in 1 overtime. HOU took 19 more shots (98 to 79), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 41% to LAL's 48%, 11 of 39 from three, and got to the line 23 times to LAL's 32. HOU turned it over 15 times to LAL's 20. Sengun led with 33 (15 of 27, 1 of 5 from three); Thompson added 26, Smith Jr. 24. Q3 was theirs, 23-17, the deficit cut from 11 to 5, but the other 4 periods went 95-85 against them. Finney-Smith's -6 in 11 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/26 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 28 from three, 25 free throws a game; Thompson at 25 and Sengun at 24 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 96, shooting 52 percent and 45 from three, 27 free throws a game; James at 24 and Kennard at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Reaves (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 45 percent from three to Houston's 28 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Houston 111, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/29 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 104, shooting 52 percent and 42 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 21 and Hachimura at 17 a game. Without Reaves (9 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 103, shooting 42 percent and 31 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and Thompson at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 42 percent from three to Houston's 31 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and the Lakers minus-2. Call it the Lakers 111, Houston 109, Houston keeping it close.
5/01 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 102, shooting 42 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 21 and Thompson at 19 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; James at 22 and Smart at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 18 times a game to Houston's 13 and the arc, the Lakers at 38 percent from three to Houston's 32. Call it Houston 110, the Lakers 106, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/10 vs PHX 101-73 — LAL notes
LAL won 101-73. LAL shot 51% (35 of 69) to PHX's 34%, 8 of 20 from three, and went to the line 30 times to PHX's 21 — 23 points from the stripe to their 14. LAL turned it over 11 times to PHX's 23. The glass went 35-47 against them. L. James led with 28 (10 of 16, 6 of 9 at the line); Kennard added 19, Hachimura 13. The hinge was Q4, 20-9: a lead of 17 became 28. Hachimura was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
4/12 vs UTA 131-107 — LAL notes
LAL won 131-107. LAL shot 55% (51 of 93) to UTA's 44%, 15 of 34 from three, and got to the line 17 times to UTA's 27. Hachimura led with 22 (8 of 12, 3 of 5 from three); Ayton added 22, L. James 18. The hinge was Q1, 32-22: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 30. Hachimura was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/18 vs HOU 107-98 — LAL notes
LAL won 107-98. LAL shot 61% (40 of 66) to HOU's 38%, 10 of 19 from three. LAL turned it over 18 times to HOU's 13, and HOU turned those into 13 steals. Kennard led with 27 (9 of 13, 5 of 5 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); L. James added 19, Ayton 19. The hinge was Q3, 25-18: a lead of 2 became 9, and the lead reached 16. L. James was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
4/21 vs HOU 101-94 — LAL notes
LAL won 101-94. LAL shot 46% (33 of 72) to HOU's 40%, 13 of 28 from three, and went to the line 28 times to HOU's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 15. L. James led with 28 (8 of 20, 2 of 5 from three, 10 of 14 at the line); Smart added 25, Kennard 23. The hinge was Q1, 33-26: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Hayes was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/24 @ HOU 112-108 — LAL notes
LAL won 112-108 in 1 overtime. LAL shot 48% (38 of 79) to HOU's 41%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 32 times to HOU's 23 — 24 points from the stripe to their 17. LAL turned it over 20 times to HOU's 15, and HOU turned those into 15 steals. L. James led with 29 (10 of 22, 4 of 9 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Hachimura added 22, Smart 21. The hinge was Q1, 39-32: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15.
4/26 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 28 from three, 25 free throws a game; Thompson at 25 and Sengun at 24 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 96, shooting 52 percent and 45 from three, 27 free throws a game; James at 24 and Kennard at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Reaves (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 45 percent from three to Houston's 28 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and the Lakers minus-5. Call it Houston 111, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/29 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 104, shooting 52 percent and 42 from three, 25 free throws a game; James at 21 and Hachimura at 17 a game. Without Reaves (9 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 103, shooting 42 percent and 31 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and Thompson at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Lakers at 42 percent from three to Houston's 31 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and the Lakers minus-2. Call it the Lakers 111, Houston 109, Houston keeping it close.
5/01 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 102, shooting 42 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 21 and Thompson at 19 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; James at 22 and Smart at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 18 times a game to Houston's 13 and the arc, the Lakers at 38 percent from three to Houston's 32. Call it Houston 110, the Lakers 106, the Lakers keeping it close.
5/05 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Jal. Williams (2 straight). 7 days' rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 100 a night and allowing 99, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; James at 24 and Hachimura at 16 a game. 3 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, the Lakers allowing 99 a night to OKC's 111 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it OKC 114, the Lakers 107.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALBJ B. James
DA D. Ayton
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LJ L. James
LK L. Kennard
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
DF D. Finney-Smith
JG J. Green
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
RS R. Sheppard
TE T. Eason
LAL/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
James makes tying 3 as Lakers storm back late, win in OT and take a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets
HOUSTON -- — LeBron James scored 29 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation, Marcus Smart had eight points in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of a Houston Rockets team missing Kevin Durant for a 112-108 win Friday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series.
The Lakers rallied from a six-point deficit with under 30 seconds remaining and can sweep the series Sunday night in Houston.
“It’s tough to win on the road in the playoffs and even without KD they’re a great basketball team,” coach JJ Redick said. “And that was a huge test for us, especially in that moment when we’re down six.”
Los Angeles opened overtime with a 6-2 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Smart to take a 107-103 lead.
Smart made two free throws with 35.5 seconds to go to make it 111-105. Reed Sheppard made a 3-pointer to get Houston within three with less than 30 seconds left in overtime but Smart made 1 of 2 free throws to push the lead to 112-108.
The 41-year-old James played more than 45 minutes Friday night. He said with top scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out with injuries he has no choice but to do whatever he can.
“Everyone has to do a little bit more because of how much we’re missing,” James said. “It’s a challenge for all of us and just trying to figure it out together.”
Smart added 21 points and 10 assists, and Rui Hachimura added 22 points for the Lakers.
Even with Durant out for a second game in this series — this time with a sprained ankle after missing Game 1 with a knee injury — the Rockets were in position to close out the game after James had consecutive turnovers that Houston turned into a 101-95 lead.
Houston struggled at times to close out games in the fourth quarter and the problem continued Friday night.
“It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” coach Ime Udoka said. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious and you can’t have those.”
Durant wasn't on the bench Friday night and Udoka said it was because he was receiving treatment on his injured ankle.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 33 points and 16 rebounds. Amen Thompson added 26 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers led by 15 early, but were down six before Smart was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 25 seconds to go after a Houston turnover and made all three free throws.
“It was a smart play, and that’s part of my vet savvy, being in the league for 12 years,” Smart said. “I picked up some tricks from some guys, right. So, that helped us a lot.”
James then stole the ball from Sheppard and his 3-pointer tied it at 101-all with 13 seconds to go in the fourth.
Sengun missed a 7-footer and the Lakers had a chance to win, but James' 3-point attempt bounced off the rim to send it to OT.
James, who threw an alley-oop pass to his son Bronny for a basket in the first half, also had 13 rebounds.