Despite the return of star Austin Reeves, the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 5 of the series to the Houston Rockets.
Published April 30, 2026
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points and Tali Eason added 18 points as the Houston Rockets fought off a two-game losing streak and advanced to the first round of the Western Conference playoff series with a 99-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday.
For the Rockets, Alperen Sengan had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Armen Thompson added 15 points. The Rockets are stuck in a 3-0 hole and currently trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
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“Everyone feels great,” Sengun said of the team. “None of us are tired and we all showed that today. We’re going to go to our families, our fans. We’re going to protect home and be back here for Game 7.”
The Rockets’ winning streak came without star Kevin Durant (ankle), who appeared in only Game 2.
Star guard Austin Reeves scored 22 points off the bench in his return from an oblique injury for the Lakers, and LeBron James added 25 points. Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 17 rebounds for Los Angeles, which will get a third chance to win the series against Houston on Friday.
“You have to give them credit,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of the Rockets. “They made shots tonight, including some guys who don’t usually make threes. You’d think our defense would be good enough to win at 99 (points allowed), but we didn’t make any shots. We missed some layups, and sure we shot good threes, but we didn’t break down.”
The Lakers remain without All-Star Luka Doncic (hamstring), who was injured along with Reaves on April 2 against Oklahoma City. Both players missed the final five games of the regular season and the first four games of the playoffs.
“Obviously, it’s nice to be back outside,” Reeves said. “I wish I could have played a little better. I wish I could have made a few more shots. But at the end of the day, it was fun to be out there and I’m glad we played.”
“I couldn’t take a good picture.”
The Lakers took an 11-point lead with a minute left in the first quarter and looked determined to end the series with a 28-21 lead after the opening period.
The Rockets fought back to build a 30-19 advantage in the second quarter and led 51-47 at halftime. Houston made 6 of 12 3-pointers in the second period and forced five turnovers.
The Rockets extended their advantage to 76-67 through three quarters.
Los Angeles went on an 11-1 run on James’ layup with 2:59 left to pull within 88-85.
A steal and two baskets by Reid Shepard cut the Rockets’ advantage back to 92-85 with 2:20 left, and Houston extended the advantage to 96-87 with 1:32 left on four straight free throws.
James and Reeves combined for three missed 3-pointers in the final 28 seconds, and James missed a long-range shot with 12 seconds left to pull the Lakers within two points.
“We missed a lot of easy shots and we didn’t shoot well as a team,” Reeves said. “I’m going to watch film and try to get better and try to win Friday’s game.”
“Overall, everyone had a great performance. We started with a very young lineup, and they’re getting a little bit of a battle test right now. … You want to show some growth, and I think we did that tonight when they trapped late, settled in, took the shots we wanted, made the free throws,” Udoka said of his team.
After averaging 25 points in the first two games of the series and 17.8 points in the first four, Lakers sharpshooter Luke Kennard was held to just one point on 0-for-4 shooting.
