Behind a big night from Luka Dončić, the Lakers took care of business against the Rockets on Friday to earn the No. 3 seed, winning in a blowout, 140-109.
Houston rested the majority of its starting lineup, leaving little resistance for the Lakers on the night.
Luka Dončić ended with 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves pitched in with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, going 9-15 from the field.
LeBron James played just 22 minutes, leaving with seven minutes to go in the third after appearing to tweak his groin. However, he remained on the bench with the Lakers leading by more than 20 and was up celebrating with the team throughout the remainder of the game. He finished with 14 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
Jarred Vanderbilt had eight points with four rebounds. Dorian Finney-Smith went six for eight from behind the arc and ended with 18 points. Rui Hachimura notched 16 points with five rebounds.
The Lakers began with an impressive alley-oop pass from Luka to LeBron for the slam. A few plays later, LeBron connected with Jaxson Hayes for a dunk. Cam Whitmore was cooking for the Rockets with seven early points.
Four of LA’s starters had scored to open the quarter but at the first timeout, Houston was up by five.
Out of the break, LeBron converted on a jumper. It was a back-and-forth affair with each team playing well offensively. The Lakers were shooting 57% from the field and the Rockets were at 52%,
Luka was the first Laker in double digits with 10 points. Whitmore’s strong first quarter continued with 10 points.
LA did a great job of preventing a momentum shift as the quarter winded down. Los Angeles ended the first on an 18-8 scoring run and were up by six.
Houston’s young guys played hard and hit 6 1st Q 3’s, but the Lakers rallied to take a 38-32 lead out of the period, with 3’s from Doncic (15 points) and Reaves (9) in the final 2 minutes making the difference.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 12, 2025
The second quarter began with the Lakers continuing their hot shooting by pushing their lead to 11. Vando was now up to a solid four points off the bench. After Los Angeles scored seven straight points, Houston called a timeout.
LA allowed Aaron Holiday to score six quick points that helped the Rockets slowly cut through the deficit, but the Lakers answered with three dunks in a row. They continued piling on the offense with an 11-0 scoring run.
Every Laker who touched the floor in this first half, minus Gabe Vincent, scored. The team kept their feet on the gas for the entire quarter, scoring 78 points on 64% shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, they kept the Rockets to 56 points. Luka was 8-12 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc.
At halftime, the purple and gold were up 22.
Halftime: Lakers 78, Rockets 56
LA outscored Houston 40-24 in the 2nd — with half their points coming in the paint. Luka has 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. LeBron has 14 points and 6 assists. AR has 14 points and 5 rebounds. LA is shooting 64.4% and 52.4% on 3s (11-21).
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 12, 2025
The Lakers couldn’t make a shot to start the second half. The Rockets scored four straight until Luka converted a layup off the glass. Houston scored another seven points, slowly shaving points off the deficit as Los Angeles looked a little bored.
Despite the Rockets’ attempt at a comeback, the Lakers managed to keep their foot on the gas with Luka heating up. He added seven more points to his night, pushing his total to over 30.
The Rockets were shooting a rough 37% from behind the arc, while the Lakers were at 52%. Luka, Austin, and Dorian combined for 10 of the 13 points from three.
Whitmore was still putting on an offensive clinic for the Rockets, he was up to 26 points. Dorian drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up 20.
Loud MVP chants for Luka at crypto
— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) April 12, 2025
LA started the final frame shakey, allowing the Rockets to score four straight points. They immediately rectified it with Austin, Rui, and Dorian combining for nine points to keep the lead big.
With four minutes left, the Lakers emptied their bench. Bronny James and Dalton Knecht both drained 3-pointers as the final daggers on a great night.
Key Takeaways:
Why, hello, third seed, good to see you.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be the final game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at 12:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
