HOUSTON — JJ Redick said the Lakers would need to “kill” the Rockets to close out their first round playoff series.
And on Friday night at Toyota Center, the Lakers accomplished their goal, suffocating the Rockets’ offense to a permanent end of their season en route to a 98-78 victory in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series, advancing to a second round matchup against the Thunder.
The Lakers didn’t have it going offensively, either.
The Rockets’ scoring total was not only the fewest amount of points they’ve scored in a game since 2018 (regular season and playoffs), but it was the fewest amount of points the Lakers allowed in a playoff game since May 16, 2012.
The Lakers didn’t have it going offensively either, shooting just 40.4% from the field. But they won the margins in two significant ways: Offensive rebounding (15-8) and turnovers (14-11), both of which were advantages for the Rockets throughout the first five games of the series.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds in 37 minutes, finishing with a team-best individual plus/minus of plus-26.
Rui Hachimura added an efficient 21 points (8-of-15 shooting) and 6 rebiunds, while Austin Reaves recorded 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in his second game back from his oblique injury.
Deandre Ayton controlled the boards with 16 rebounds to go with 7 points.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but only had 1 assist.
What it means
The Lakers won a playoff series for the first time in three years, when they beat the Warriors in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games.
They lost to the Nuggets and the Timberwolves in five games in the first round in the previous two seasons.
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Turning point
When the Lakers went on a 27-3 run from midway through the first quarter to midway through the second to flip a five-point deficit into a 19-point lead after a layup from James with just over eight minutes left in the second.
The Rockets went from the 5:13 mark in the first quarter, when they led 16-11, until the 6:55 mark of the second without scoring a field goal – a dominant defensive stretch by the Lakers during a game in which they didn’t let up at all defensively.
The Lakers led by at least double digits for the remainder of the game.
MVP: LeBron James
James set the tone for the Lakers, who were desperate to avoid blowing their aries lead after winning the first three games.
The four-time league MVP had 4 points and 3 assists in the first quarter before scoring 14 more points in the second – single handlely outscoring the Rockets in the quarter.
The Rockets had just 13 points in the second after being held to 18 in the first.
Stat of the game: 35%
That was the Rockets’ field goal percentage in Game 6.
It was the worst field goal percentage an opponent has had against the Lakers in a playoff game since April 28, 2023.
Up next
The Lakers will play the defending NBA champions, the Thunder, in the second round.
Game 1 of Lakers-Thunder will take place on Tuesday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.