Lakers could finish Rockets tonight
- The Los Angeles Lakers take a 3-0 first-round lead into Sunday night’s Game 4 in Houston, where a win would eliminate the Rockets. - Los Angeles won the first three games 107-98, 101-94 and 112-108 in overtime, with LeBron James scoring 29 in Friday’s comeback. - Game 4 is set for 9:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock, the first Sunday series that can end. (nba.com)
The Los Angeles Lakers can end their first-round series Sunday night, taking a 3-0 lead into Game 4 against the Houston Rockets in Houston. (nba.com) Game 4 is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Eastern, 8:30 p.m. local time at Toyota Center, with NBC and Peacock carrying the broadcast. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Los Angeles won Game 1, 107-98, on April 18, then took Game 2, 101-94, on April 21 before stealing Game 3, 112-108 in overtime, on April 24. (nba.com) That Game 3 loss put Houston on the brink. LeBron James scored 29 points, hit a tying 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation, and Marcus Smart scored eight overtime points. (espn.com) (nba.com) Houston was missing Kevin Durant in Game 3, and the Rockets still led late before the Lakers erased the gap and finished the comeback in overtime. (espn.com) (nba.com) The matchup is a 4-versus-5 series in the Western Conference, but the records were close: the Lakers finished 53-29 and the Rockets 52-30. (espn.com) Sunday’s game is also the first on the day’s four-game playoff slate that can produce a completed series, with Los Angeles carrying the only 3-0 edge among the Game 4s on the schedule. (jsonline.com) (nba.com) If the Lakers win, the Rockets’ season ends Sunday, April 26. If Houston survives, Game 5 shifts back to Los Angeles on April 29. (nba.com)
