NBA Playoffs 2026: The Lakers eliminate the Rockets with a great LeBron

Los Angeles Lakers left no room for surprise and secured their spot in the 2026 NBA Playoffs with authority by defeating Houston Rockets 98-78 in the sixth game. The Los Angeles team, seeded fourth, thus closed the first-round series and will now face Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference leaders, in a series that will begin on Tuesday.

The triumph had a clear protagonist in LeBron James, who scored 28 points on a night when Los Angeles dominated from the start, holding Houston to their lowest score of the entire season.

The game was practically in the bag before halftime. The Lakers built a 27-3 run in the first half that allowed them to go to the locker room with an 18-point lead, imposing the physical and defensive rhythm early on that would define the match.

The lead reached 22 points with three minutes left in the third quarter. Although Houston timidly reacted with an 8-2 run to close that period, reducing the gap to 71-55, the feeling was that the control still belonged to the home team.

No response from Houston in the last quarter

Any attempt at a comeback dissipated quickly. The Lakers started the final quarter with a 10-3 run that stretched the lead again, reaching 81-58 with seven minutes to play. Rui Hachimura was key in that stretch, scoring five points within that run and finishing the game with 21 points, including five three-pointers.

"To win, we had to protect the ball, rebound, and be physical, forcing them to take tough shots," explained James. "I think defensively we had a great game plan and executed it perfectly."

LeBron's leadership and the team's support

Beyond his performance in this game, the impact of James was also highlighted by his coach. JJ Redick emphasized his importance throughout the entire season: "He has the ability to set the tone for the whole group, and he did it again tonight, and our players responded."

Advancing to the next round gains even more value considering the absence throughout the series of Luka Doncic, the team's leading scorer.

"For us, who were considered lost a few weeks ago, winning a playoff series is very important," acknowledged Redick.

Houston exits without finding solutions

On the Rockets' side, the elimination leaves a bitter taste. Amen Thompson led the team with 18 points, while Alperen Sengun added 17, but the team never found offensive consistency.

"We are all disappointed, no doubt," admitted coach Ime Udoka. "It's not what we expected for tonight's game or for the series in general. We all thought we would go to a seventh game."

Houston, who had managed to force this sixth game after losing the first three, once again suffered from shooting accuracy issues. They finished the game shooting 35% from the field and a poor 5 for 28 from three-point range, far from the performance shown in previous games.

Furthermore, the absence of Kevin Durant for much of the series, due to knee and ankle problems, ended up weighing heavily in the outcome.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Playoffs NBA 2026: Los Lakers eliminan a los Rockets con un gran LeBron