Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets
Friday, April 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 42500173
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
HOU 32 20 23 26 7 108LAL 39 24 17 21 11 112
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
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.
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
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