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After a couple of losses, the Lakers finally finished off the Rockets, beating them 98-78 in Game 6 to advance to the second round.
Los Angeles went on an impressive 13-1 run to start the second quarter, giving them control of the game and they never looked back.
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Now the Lakers will face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. That series will begin on Tuesday, May 5, in OKC.
The Lakers started this game by scoring a pair of baskets in the paint. Tari Eason started off hot for the Rockets, converting on his first two shots, and after a three by Jabari Smith Jr., Houston was in front 10-6.
Points in the paint continued to be the focus for the purple and gold and after a dunk from Rui Hachimura, they had their first lead of the game.
Unfortunately for LA, Houston had a much more balanced attack. Alperen Şengün scored inside and after an Eason dunk, the Rockets were back in control.
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With Austin Reaves starting, Luke Kennard was relegated to the bench and got his first minutes midway through the first quarter. He hit a corner three to give LA back the lead and end his two-game drought of not making a beyond-the-arc basket.
Jake LaRavia added a three of his own, making it a 9-0 run for Los Angeles.
Smith Jr. ended the scoring drought for the Rockets by knocking a pair of free throws, but LA was still ahead by five.
In the closing minutes of the quarter, the Lakers bricked all their shot attempts, but so did the Rockets, leaving LA ahead 23-18 after 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Lakers got their offense going with a LeBron basket. Jake LaRavi added a three and, after another basket by James, LA was on a 7-0 run and Luka Dončić was jokingly signaling for Houston to call a timeout.
The Rockets didn’t, but after another basket from James, they took Luka’s advice and asked for a stop in play.
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Houston finally scored off a free throw, but LaRavia immediately responded with a fastbreak dunk. This second-quarter shift from LaRavia was his best play of this series.
The Rockets literally couldn’t score, missing 15 consecutive shots. Reed Sheppard finally…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-eliminate-rockets-advance-second-041450520.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-02 04:14:00
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