Rockets beat Lakers on the road, force Game 6 in Houston

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Rockets beat Lakers on the road, force Game 6 in Houston originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Houston Rockets took care of business with a 99-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs. After falling behind to be 0-3 in the series, this resets with a return to Houston. 

Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 22 points and seven rebounds while shooting 6-13 from the field, including 4-9 beyond the arc. All five Rockets starters were in double figures. 

LeBron James led all scorers with 25 points, with 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Lakers jumped out to a quick lead, but could keep pace with Houston’s shooting from 3-point land.

The Rockets hit 14 triples, which was twice as many as the Lakers.  

Rockets vs. Lakers: 2026 NBA Playoffs Game 5 score

NBA PLAYOFFS HQ: Live scores | Full schedule | Updated bracket

Rockets vs. Lakers live updates, highlights from Game 5 of NBA playoffs

Rockets 99, Lakers 93 Final 

4th Quarter- 6.3 seconds: A miss by Austin Reaves does it for Lakers. 

4th Quarter- 11.9 seconds: Jabari Smith Jr. two free throws with lead 99-93 

4th Quarter- 21.3 seconds: Tip-in dunk by Deandre Ayton cuts Rockets lead to 96-93 

4th Quarter- 58.6 seconds: A quick two free throws by Austin Reaves 

4th Quarter- 1:32: The Rockets playing with good energy now up 96-87 

4th Quarter- 1:42: Tari Eason heads to the free throw line with two makes for a 94-87 lead. 

4th Quarter- 2:01: LeBron James with another layup for a 92-87 lead for Houston. 

4th Quarter- 2:19: Four quick points from Reed Sheppard pushes the lead back up to 7 at 92-85

4th Quarter- 2:57: Houston’s lead is now three with a LeBron James layup 

4th Quarter- 5:38: LeBron James to the free throw line and hits both shots. 87-76 lead for Houston. 

4th Quarter- 6:44: Rockets by 11 with time now a factor for the Lakers

4th Quarter- 8:04: Teams trade buckets before LeBron James fouled 83-74 Rockets lead.  

4th Quarter- 9:39: LeBron James stops the bleeding with a lay in 82-71

4th Quarter- 9:55: Rockets hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take the largest lead at 82-69. 

4th Quarter- 10:26: Houston holding steady with a 79-69 lead

End of 3rd Quarter: Rockets 76, Lakers 67 

3rd Quarter- 1:00: Rockets match the biggest lead of the game with a dunk by Josh Okogie. 

3rd Quarter- 2:00: Houston takes a 74-64 lead and can pull further away. 

3rd Quarter- 2:52: Rockets take 72-64 lead from Aaron Holiday 3-pointer. Houston’s 12th make from beyond the arc. 

3rd Quarter- 3:41: Both teams are trading buckets once again. Houston up 69-64

3rd Quarter- 5:19: LeBron James starting to make an impact. Houston still up 65-60. 

3rd Quarter- 6:13: TV timeout. Rockets up big 65-56 on Lakers

3rd Quarter- 7:24: Jabari Smith Jr. hits a 3-pointer for a 65-54 Houston lead. 

3rd Quarter- 7:46: A flagrant foul called on Tari Eason with putting Austin Reaves on the line. 

3rd Quarter- 7:46: Houston has everything going right with a 62-53 lead

3rd Quarter- 9:36: A 3-pointer by Tari Eason put Houston up 59-51 on an 8-0 run.  

3rd Quarter- 10:43: Austin Reaves hit another two from the free throw line to pull LA within three at 54-51

3rd Quarter- 11:20: A quick pair of free throws from Austin Reaves. He has 13 points to lead all scorers. 

Start of the 3rd Quarter

Haltime team stats

Haltime Stats Houston  LA
FG 19-38 17-40
Field Goal % 50 43
3PT 8-21 6-15
Three Point % 38 40
FT 5-7 7-7
Free Throw % 71 100
Rebounds 15 21
Offensive Rebounds 2 7
Defensive Rebounds 13 14
Assists 14 13
Steals 6 3
Blocks 4 1
Total Turnovers 6 9
Points Off Turnovers 7 9
Fast Break Points 2 4
Points in Paint 22 18
Fouls 10 8
Technical Fouls 0 0
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Largest Lead 4 11
Percent Led 33 62

Halftime in Los Angeles: Rockets 51, Lakers 47 

2nd Quarter- 15.8 seconds: Tari Eason responds with a 3-pointer for the Rockets for a 51-47 lead. 

2nd Quarter- 40.8 seconds: Rui Hachimura hits a 3-pointer with Houston up 48-47

2nd Quarter- 1:22: TV timeout. Houston up 48-44 with two quick buckets

2nd Quarter- 2:26: Austin Reaves hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. 

2nd Quarter- 2:30: Both teams have traded buckets. Also, play has started to get more physical. Houston up 44-41

2nd Quarter- 4:51: Josh Okogie hit a 3-pointer with Rockets up 40-36

2nd Quarter- 5:42: A pair of Le”Bron James free throws pulls LA back within one at 37-36

2nd Quarter- 6:05: Reed Sheppard layup puts Rockets up 37-34

2nd Quarter- 6:23: TV timeout. Rockets take a 35-32 lead from a 3-pointer by Reed Sheppard.

2nd Quarter- 7:45: Rockets tie the game at 32 with a pair of Amen Thomson free throws. 

2nd Quarter- 7:59: Both teams trade bucket with Lakers holding a 32-30 lead.

2nd Quarter- 10:36: Jabari Smith Jr. hits another 3-pointer with LA’s lead down to 28-27.

2nd Quarter- 11:12: Dorian Finney-Smith nails a 3-pointer with LA up 28-24.

End of 1st Quarter: Lakers 28, Rockets 21 

Points off turnovers: LA- 7, Houston-0

1st Quarter- 48.5 seconds Amen Thompson hit a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding for the Rockets 26-18

1st Quarter- 1:06: Streaking layup by LeBron James for the Lakers largest lead 26-15

1st Quarter- 1:41: Austin Reaves heads to the line after being fouled on a 3-pointer. Sinks all three shots for a 24-15 lead. 

1st Quarter- 2:09: Austin Reaves layup puts Lakers up 21-15

1st Quarter- 2:50: TV timeout. Lakers lead 19-15. Both teams are starting to settle into the game. 

1st Quarter- 3:56: Austin Reaves nails a 3-pointer for his first points of the series. Lakers up 19-13.

1st Quarter- 4:15: LeBron James missed an ally-oop dunk on one end and comes back with a steal, his 500th in playoff history. Lakers up 16-13.  

1st Quarter- 5:34: Austin Reaves in the game. His first action since April 2 after missing nine games.

1st Quarter- 5:39: Lakers take the biggest lead thus far 14-9 over Rockets. A quick 8 points from Marcus Smart

1st Quarter- 7:58: LeBron James with a nice assist to Rui Hachimura for a dunk. Lakers retake the lead 7-6 

1st Quarter- 8:48: Both teams are struggling early with the Lakers up 5-4

1st Quarter- 9:33: Smart heads to the line after a foul with Rockets up 4-3 

1st Quarter-11:37: Lakers open the game with a 3-0 lead with a triple from Marcus Smart.

After a 20-minute delay Tip-off in Los Angeles 

Delayed start for the game 

10:18 p.m. ET Cleveland takes 3-2 series leas with 125-120 win

10:17 p.m. ET Cleveland up 125-120 with 2.4 seconds left. Not sure Toronto has enough time. 

10:13 p.m. ET- Cleveland up 125-120 with Toronto inbounding 18 seconds left

10:10 p.m. ET- Cleveland up 124-120 with 22.5 seconds left 

10:07 p.m. ET- The Cavs and Raptors game has pushed back the start time for the Rockets and Lakers. There’s currently 2:01 left in the 4th quarter with Cleveland up 124-116.

Austin Reaves read to go for the Lakers. 

Reactions from Rockets vs. Lakers Game 5

As LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers move closer to advancing to the next round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, there’s still the goal of one game at a time. The NBA great knows nothing is guaranteed in his 23rd season, but this time around it seems different.

Los Angeles can take the series in five on Wednesday. The Rockets defeated the Lakers 115-96 on Monday night. Amen Thompson led Houston with 23 points to shift the series back to the City of Angels.

In a rare moment, James was asked about the long-standing GOAT debate with Michael Jordan. While the two are considered as the Mount Rushmore of the NBA, is there a comparison? The King doesn’t believe so.

“I hope I made him proud at least, wearing that No. 23,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin this week. “I never have compared myself to MJ because our games are totally different. I have been a point-forward/forward-point my whole life. I have always looked for the pass. MJ kind of looked for the shot. Not kind of, he did. He looked for the shot.”

James is playing with a “second wind” after the Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the series over the Houston Rockets. The No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup hasn’t lived up to expectations in the Western Conference First Round series. No Luka Doncic, but James is shooting 51.5% and averaging 20.9 points for the Lakers.

On the other end, Kevin Durant has been dealing with a bone bruise that has sidelined him for 2-3 weeks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Rockets are still without him in Game 5, which tilts the series towards the Lakers. The Rockets look to stave off elimination on the road. Houston is 29-23 in West play and ranks second, scoring 53.0 points per game in the paint.

How to Watch Houston Rockets (52-30) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) Game 5 NBA Playoffs

Wednesday, April 29 10 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN 
Lakers lead series 3-1 

Lakers vs. Rockets Game 5 will be broadcast by ABC on ESPN and will stream live on the ESPN app.

Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, plus SportsCenter, First Take, and all your favorite ESPN shows—anytime, anywhere—only in the ESPN app.

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