For the second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves with home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This time, LeBron James finds himself face-to-face with one of his biggest rivals of his career, Kevin Durant, and the Houston Rockets.
Of course, the Lakers come into the playoffs extremely shorthanded without their two leading scorers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for at least the start of the series. The Rockets have had their issues all season long as well and both teams come into this feeling like they have a chance to come out on top.
Despite never being considered rivals, the Lakers and Rockets actually have quite a lengthy playoff history that stretches back many eras. And here’s a look back at each time these two teams have faced off in the postseason.
Lakers vs Rockets postseason history
2020 Western Conference Semis
The last time these two teams met came inside the bubble as the Lakers dispatched the Rockets in five games on their way to the 2020 NBA Championship.
The Rockets stole Game 1 against the top-seeded Lakers, but they locked in after that, reeling off four straight behind the greatness of James and Anthony Davis, each of whom averaged double-doubles in the series. Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso and Rajon Rondo all contributed in a major way as the role players stepped up big time.
2009 Western Conference Semifinals
Another meeting between these two teams with the Lakers coming out on top on their way to another NBA Championship. This time, however, it was a much tougher series as it took them seven games to down a scrappy Rockets team in a feisty and physical series.
The Rockets again stole Game 1 on the Lakers’ home court, but Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol got them back on track to take the next two. Rockets star Yao Ming suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot in Game 3, but Houston continued to battle behind Aaron Brooks and Metta World Peace. But Gasol’s 21-point, 18-rebound performance in Game 7 sealed the deal.
This series is also notable for Derek Fisher’s infamous shoulder check of Rockets forward Luis Scola in Game 2.
2004 Western Conference First Round
The infamous ‘Superteam’ Lakers led by Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton handled the Rockets in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, finishing them off in five games despite a less than stellar series from O’Neal.
The big fella averaged just 16.2 points in the series, but it didn’t matter as Bryant led the way with some major help from Malone. His 31 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4 gave the Lakers a commanding 3-1 lead before they finished things off back at home in Game 5 behind Bryant’s 31 and 10 assists.
1999 Western Conference First Round
The lockout season of 1999 was a weird one, but the Lakers and Rockets met again and as has continued to be the case, it was the Lakers coming out on top, taking down Houston 3-1.
O’Neal was a force, but with a young Bryant still finding his footing, veteran Glen Rice delivered some big performances, including 29 points in a one-point Game 1 victory. O’Neal averaged just under 30 points as the younger Lakers squad was too much for the veteran Rockets led by Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen.
The Lakers would be swept in the round after this, however, but that led to the team hiring Phil Jackson and going on a run of three straight championships to start the 2000s.
1996 Western Conference First Round
You have to go back 30 years for the last time the Rockets defeated the Lakers in the playoffs as they defeated the L.A. 3-1 in what was the final NBA games of the legendary career of Magic Johnson.
Johnson returned in the middle of this season, joining a young squad featuring Eddie Jones, Cedric Ceballos and Nick Van Exel, but they just had no answers for Olajuwon in the paint as he was at the peak of his powers at this time.
1991 Western Conference First Round
Johnson and James Worthy led the Lakers to a sweep of the Rockets in the first round, on their way to their last trip to the NBA Finals. It was a much tougher series than the sweep would indicate, however, as two of the three games were decided by four or fewer points.
Both Johnson and Worthy were excellent in the series, both averaging more than 20 points, and the big man duo of Vlade Divac and Sam Perkins were outstanding as well. Olajuwon was his usual outstanding self, but Johnson’s 38 points in Game 3 were enough to keep Houston down.
1990 Western Conference First Round
It was actually two straight seasons that the Lakers dispatched the Rockets in the first round, though this time Houston was able to take a game, before the Lakers ended the series in four.
Worthy was the star of this series, dropping 34 points in Game 1 and 32 in Game 2 as the Lakers established dominance. The Rockets took Game 3, but Worthy led a balanced effort in Game 4 with seven players in double-figures allowing the Lakers to run away with the final game and another series victory.
1986 Western Conference Finals
The Lakers were heavy favorites going into this series as everyone anticipated another Finals matchup against the Celtics, but Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson had other ideas.
After the Lakers took Game 1 behind 31 from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a 26-point, 18-assist outing from Johnson, the Rockets would shock everyone by taking the next four to advance to the NBA Finals. A young Olajuwon was unstoppable, but it was Sampson’s buzzer-beater to win the series in Game 5 that is still played to this day as one of the most unbelievable moments in NBA history.
1981 Western Conference First Round
There were only two seasons in the 1980s that the Lakers didn’t make the NBA Finals and both came at the hands of the Rockets.
First round series’ were only best-of-3 at this time and this was a battle of all-time great bigs. Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone went head-to-head with Malone’s 38-point, 23-rebound Game 1 being offset by Abdul-Jabbar’s 27 and 17 in Game 2.
Both were again outstanding in Game 3, but Johnson shot just 2-of-14 as the Rockets pulled off the upset on their way to their first ever Finals appearance.
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