The middle of the Western Conference was in flux for much of the regular season as four teams were separated by just a couple of games. In the end, the Los Angeles Lakers wound up with the fourth seed and will take on the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The matchup is an intriguing one for a number of reasons. First and foremost, two of the greatest players of their generation and NBA history will meet once again in the postseason as LeBron James and Kevin Durant will square off in a series for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals.
Both teams are also dealing with major injuries. The Lakers are of course without their two leading scorers to start the series in Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique injury). It is unclear when or if either will be able to return to the court, but the Lakers are viewed as major underdogs because of it.
The Rockets are also without some key players in Fred Van Vleet and Steven Adams, though they have had plenty of time to adjust to not playing with them as the former has been out the entire season and the latter has been gone since January.
The Lakers won the season series between these teams 2-1 with the road team winning every matchup, but obviously things are much different now, especially on the Lakers’ side. But still, lets see how these teams fared against each other in the regular season.
Dec. 25 @ Los Angeles: Rockets 119, Lakers 96
In front of a national audience on one of the biggest days of the year, the Rockets absolutely dominated the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Rockets led by 12 after the first quarter and never looked back.
Amen Thompson led the way with 26 points while Kevin Durant added 25 points and eight assists. The Rockets shot 53.3% from the field, but also grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, so even when they did miss it didn’t matter. Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 25 points and seven assists and LeBron James added 18, but Austin Reaves finished with just 12 points and left the game early due to a calf injury that would then keep him out until February.
This loss continued a narrative of the Lakers being unable to beat good teams at that point in the season and the team hadn’t found the right lineups, rotations and roles for everyone just yet, but that would change as the year went on.
March 16 @ Houston: Lakers 100, Rockets 92
The Lakers showed they could win a defensive battle as they took down the Rockets in the first of back-to-back games in Houston. The story of the game was the Lakers locking down the Rockets in the second half, holding them to just 35 points and Durant to just two, which came on a layup in the final seconds once the game had been decided.
Doncic led the way with 36 points, six rebounds and four assists, James added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, but the unlikely star of this game was Deandre Ayton. While he only scored seven points, six of those came in the final three minutes of the contest as the Lakers seized victory. He also added 11 rebounds with six of those coming on the offensive end.
Jabari Smith Jr. led the Rockets with 22 points while Thompson continued his strong performances against the Lakers with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. The Lakers also nearly matched the Rockets on the offensive glass with 12 to Houston’s 15, but the defense also forced 24 turnovers while holding the Rockets to just 41.2% shooting in the second half.
March 18 @ Houston: Lakers 124, Rockets 116
The second straight meeting between these teams had more offense and the Rockets welcomed back All-Star big man Alperen Sengun to the lineup, but the end result was another Lakers eight-point victory.
The Lakers looked to have things in control at the half, holding a 12-point lead behind 18 points each from Doncic and James. The Rockets would explode back in the third quarter however and go into the fourth with a three-point lead. However, the Lakers again locked down in the fourth quarter and battled back to come away with the win.
Doncic, James and Reaves combined for 26 points in the fourth and the Lakers again shut down Durant in the final period as he had just three points while only taking two shots.
Doncic finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists while James added 30 and Ayton finished with 16 points and three blocks. Sengun led the Rockets with 27 points and 10 assists while Thompson added 26 and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers again dominated down the stretch.
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