Rockets hold off Lakers to force Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in series
Rockets hold off Lakers to force Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in series
Jack BaerThu, April 30, 2026 at 4:57 AM UTC
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The Houston Rockets are still on their back foot, but they’re two wins from making NBA history.
After trailing by double-digits at one point in the first quarter, Houston roared back to take Game 5 99-93 against the Los Angeles and force a Game 6 in a series they once trailed 3-0. No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit, but the Rockets will try to take another step toward that feat on Friday.
They’ve already achieved something notable, though. Before Wednesday, no visiting team had defeated LeBron James in a closeout game since 2008.
Jabari Smith Jr. led Houston with 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while every other starter scored in double-digits. It was Reed Sheppard who delivered the biggest swing of the game in the fourth quarter.
Right after the Lakers cut the deficit to three points, with the Crypto.com Arena fully awakened, the point guard hit a pull-up jumper over Lakers center Deandre Ayton, got the ball from LeBron James on an aggressive steal and hit the breakaway dunk to push the lead back up to seven.
However the rest of the series works out, Wednesday’s result does mean two fewer days of possible rest for the next series. The Oklahoma City Thunder await in the Western Conference semifinals, and they are probably just fine with what happened Wednesday.
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There also might be a sense of regret for the Rockets given that it would be them trying to close out the series in Houston if they hadn’t fallen apart in that brutal Game 3, but star center Alperen Şengün indicated the team had learned a valuable lesson:
"We had that bad mistake in Game 3, but we learned … Everybody feels amazing. Nobody's tired,” Şengün said.
Austin Reaves returns after nearly 4 weeks out
The Lakers entered Game 5 with some reason for optimism, thanks to the return of Austin Reaves.
The rising star guard had been out since April 2 with a Grade 2 oblique strain, but made it back a little earlier than expected. Los Angeles is still short-handed with the absence of Luka Dončić, but there had been concerns Reaves wouldn’t make it back in time to play a postseason game for the Lakers.
Reaves, who was second on the Lakers in points per game in the regular season, came off the bench but still wound up being a featured player. He finished with 22 points and six assists in starter-level minutes.
Like the Lakers with Dončić, the Rockets are also missing their leading scorer in Kevin Durant, who has appeared in only one game all series. He remains out with both a left ankle sprain and bone bruise, and it remains to be seen if he’ll make it back in time for Game 6 (or 7).
LeBron James achieves a playoff first
There are several NBA leaders that James sits atop, and one of them is playoff steals.
No other player in league history has even reached 400 career steals in the postseason (Scottie Pippen is the closest with 395). James became the first player to reach 500 for his career in the second quarter.
Source: “AOL Sports”
