Lakers' 27-3 surge burries Rockets, sets up blockbuster clash against NBA-best Thunder

LeBron James's stunning star power has sent Houston home with a 98-78 win in Game 6, the first round of NBA playoff series on Friday, May 1, 2026.

The 41-year-old James showed an outclass performance with 28 points on 10-of-25 shooting, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds with 3 turnovers.

Lakers are now set to clash with NBA top seed OKC Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals starting next Tuesday on May 5, 2026.

For context, it is the first playoff series win for the Lakers in three years, when it lost to Denver in the West finals despite the fact that Luka Doncic was sidelined for the entire series.

The Lakers entered the game with a two-game losing streak against Rockets.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick commented on the team’s win, saying, “For us to be written a few weeks ago and win a playoff series is a big deal.”

The Lakers used a 27-3 run in the first half to take an 18-point lead at halftime.

With roughly three minutes left in the third quarter, they led by 22 points before Houston mounted an 8-2 run that reduced the lead to 71-55 entering the fourth quarter.

But Los Angeles set the tone early in the quarter with a 10-3 run, including five points from Rui Hachimura, to push the lead to 81-58 with seven minutes left in the game.

In a postgame on-court interview, LeBron James said, “In order for us to win we had to protect the ball, we had to rebound and we had to be physical, make them take tough shots.”

“I thought defensively we came in with a great game plan and we executed that thing to a T.”

The OKC Thunder and LA Lakers will open their best-of-seven-round series on Tuesday, May 5, at Paycom Center, Oklahoma.