Published April 27, 2026
The Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 and remained in the NBA playoffs as San Antonio’s Victor Wembaneyama made a triumphant return to put the Spurs on the brink of advancing.
Armen Thompson led the Rockets with 23 points. The Rockets bounced back from a blowout loss in overtime in the final game to close the gap in the best-of-seven Western Conference series to 3-1 on Sunday.
The Spurs and Boston Celtics took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, San Antonio fought back from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Trail Blazers 114-93 in Portland, and Boston defeated the 76ers 128-96 in Philadelphia.
In Toronto, the Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to tie the series at two games apiece.
Despite being denied a sweep in Houston, the Lakers can get the final blow against the Rockets in Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Rockets were still without star Kevin Durant, who forced the Lakers into 24 turnovers and scored 30 points in Houston.
Wenby returns to winning ways
For Portland, Wenbanyama returned after missing one game with a concussion and scored 27 points with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 7 blocked shots.
“Obviously before the game, I had a lot of emotions inside me,” said Wembaneyama, who was named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is also a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award.
“Excitement and frustration, so I gave it my all tonight,” he said.
The 22-year-old Frenchman praised the doctors who oversaw his progress through the NBA concussion protocol, but expressed frustration with the process that required him to gradually return to physical activity under medical supervision.
“The way the situation was handled was very disappointing,” Wenbanyama said, without providing further details.
San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 28 points, and the Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers 73-35 in the second half.
They will look to win the series by hosting Game 5 on Tuesday.
Houston Rockets come from behind to beat Los Angeles Lakers
Four-time NBA champion LeBron James completed just two of his nine attempts from the floor en route to 10 points. He had nine assists but had eight turnovers.
Center Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, as Los Angeles was still without its leading scorers in injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves.
But by the time he was ejected in the third quarter for hitting Rockets center Alperen Sengan in the head with a forearm, Los Angeles was already trailing by 19 points.
Tali Eason added 20 points and Sengun added 19 for Houston, which is aiming to become the first NBA team to rebound from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
Celtics defeat 76ers
The Celtics spoiled the return of 76ers star Joel Embiid, who played in his first game since undergoing an emergency appendectomy on April 9.
Peyton Pritchard scored 32 points off the bench and Jayson Tatum had 30 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists for the Celtics, who led by 16 points after the first quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Embiid led the 76ers with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Philadelphia couldn’t counter the Celtics’ barrage of 24 3-pointers.
In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram each scored 23 points to hold off the Cavaliers, even though the Raptors made just 4 of 30 3-pointers.
The Raptors were down by five points with 2 minutes and 10 seconds left in the game, but they used a 9-0 scoring burst to jump into the lead and hold on.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 20 points, and James Harden added 19, but Mitchell missed two attempts with 30 seconds left as Barnes made six free throws late to seal the victory.
