Rockets avoid sweep in Game 4
- Houston crushed Los Angeles 115-96 in Game 4 on Sunday night, with Amen Thompson scoring 23 points as the Rockets avoided elimination. - Houston got 20 points from Tari Eason and at least 16 from every starter, while the Lakers shot poorly and turned it over 23 times. - The Lakers still lead the first-round series 3-1, with Game 5 set for Wednesday in Los Angeles. (nba.com)
Houston beat the Lakers 115-96 on Sunday night in Game 4, keeping its season alive and cutting Los Angeles’ first-round lead to 3-1. (nba.com) Amen Thompson led Houston with 23 points, and Tari Eason added 20 in the Rockets’ first win of the series at Toyota Center. (espn.com) Houston’s entire starting lineup scored at least 16 points: Alperen Sengun had 19, Reed Sheppard scored 17 and Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 16. (nba.com) (espn.com) The Lakers never found the same offense they had earlier in the series. Los Angeles made five 3-pointers after hitting 35 across the first three games. (espn.com) LeBron James scored 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting, with nine assists and eight turnovers. The Lakers committed 23 turnovers as a team. (espn.com) Deandre Ayton led Los Angeles with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but officials ejected him in the third quarter after ruling his hit to Sengun’s head a Flagrant 2 foul. (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Houston played without Kevin Durant again. NBA.com said he missed a third game in the series, sitting out Sunday with a sprained left ankle after also missing Game 1 with a bruised right knee. (nba.com) That made the result more notable for Houston, which had opened the series as the No. 5 seed and fell behind 3-0 after a 112-108 overtime loss in Game 3 on Friday. (nba.com) (espn.com) The series now shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Wednesday, April 29, with the Lakers still one win from advancing. (nba.com)
