{"id":767872,"date":"2026-05-02T09:24:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/767872\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T09:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:24:39","slug":"lebron-james-leads-lakers-rout-of-rockets-to-close-out-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/767872\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James leads Lakers’ rout of Rockets to close out series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HOUSTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0LeBron James<\/a> knew what was at stake in this first-round playoff series and that it was on his shoulders to meet the moment and have his teammates follow his lead.<\/p>\n

James simply elevated his play like he has so many times over his illustrious 23-year NBA career, playing with a purpose and willing the Lakers<\/a> to a 98-78 win<\/a> over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Toyota Center.<\/p>\n

His 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds is why the Lakers won the best-of-seven series, 4-2, over the Rockets and why L.A. will meet the defending NBA champion Thunder on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n

James and the Lakers had been on the verge of collapsing in these playoffs, their commanding 3-0 lead cut to 3-2.<\/p>\n

But the Lakers and James let the Rockets know they were going to stay the course in Game 6 by building a 25-point lead in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

James began to assert himself in the second quarter, scoring 14 points on five-for-eight shooting, making two of three treys. He outscored the Rockets 14-13 in the quarter and it was his effort that put the Lakers in front for good, helping them build a 19-point lead that was never in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers guard Marcus Smart dives behind Rockets center Alperen Sengun for a loose ball during the first half of Game 6.<\/p>\n

(Ashley Landis \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

James was being a leader by example, something that increased on April 2 once Luka Doncic<\/a> (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves<\/a> (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) were injured in Oklahoma City and done for the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019ve done it throughout my career, for the majority of my career, but they still have to accept it,\u201d James said. \u201cI would say we were a totally different team before April 2nd and for them to accept the fact to allow me to lead them and kind of command them in a way that I think I saw fit, being an extension of our coaching staff on the floor, like I said, it means a lot to me. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019m happy I was able to do some things out there to make them understand that I guess I know what I\u2019m doing at times and those guys, they were great in this series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rui Hachimura<\/a> let James and the Lakers know he had come to play, scoring 21 points on eight-for-15 shooting and a sizzling five for seven on three-pointers. Hachimura also had six rebounds.<\/p>\n

Reaves started in Game 6 and Luke Kennard<\/a>, who had started the first five playoff games and the last five regular-season games, came off the bench. Reaves did his part for the Lakers with 15 points.<\/p>\n

Deandre Ayton<\/a> had just seven points, but his 16 rebounds and defensive presence was just as powerful.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura elevates for a layup against Rockets center Alperen Sengun during the first half of Game 6 on Friday night.<\/p>\n

(Ashley Landis \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Smart was the defensive catalyst for the Lakers. He had two blocks, one in which he just raised up to swat a shot by Tari Eason in the third quarter while then falling down backward in the process. Smart scored seven points, but it was his defense that helped the Lakers limit the Rockets to 34.2% shooting and 17.9% from three-point range.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should be proud of the way we handled this,\u201d James said. \u201cThis our first time in a playoff series together as a unit and obviously being (our) without MVP candidate (Doncic) and then without AR for those first three games \u2026 We had some obstacles obviously and I know they were without guys as well, but I thought we answered the call. I thought we answered the challenge and for them to allow me to lead them, that means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

James sat on the bench before the game started, going through his pre-game routine, mentally preparing for the task ahead.<\/p>\n

He collected his thoughts and prepared to lead his younger teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to immerse into the atmosphere,\u201d James, 41, said. \u201cAlso knowing how the game is going to be high, it\u2019s going to be low. But for me as the leader of the ballclub, I got to stay even-kneeled. Talked to some of the higher gods above, give them my thanks and just take a few breathes and get ready for the arena. I have to be even-kneeled throughout the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

After grabbing his last rebound with 3 minutes and 17 seconds left with the Lakers leading by 26 points, James raised his hand to come out of the game. He left with 3:07 remaining having played 37 minutes.<\/p>\n

When the Lakers entered the locker room after the game and the coaches and players got ready to huddle, they noticed the lights were off.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers coach JJ Redick talks with referee Scott Foster during the first half of Game 6.<\/p>\n

(Ashley Landis \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

So, Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> said every single guy was going, \u2018baahhhh, baahhhhh.\u2019<\/p>\n

That was in reference to calling James the G.O.A.T.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it speaks to his greatness. To me, he\u2019s had the greatest career of any NBA player,\u201d Redick said. \u201cYou can argue all you want, and I really don\u2019t care to postulate on who\u2019s the greatest of all time, but he\u2019s one of, if not the greatest of all time. And for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it\u2019s really \u2026 it\u2019s baffling in some ways. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership aspect that I talked about, he just has this ability to set the tone for the entire group. And he did that again tonight and our guys responded. I\u2019m really happy for him. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0LeBron James knew what was at stake in this first-round playoff series and that it was on his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":767873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[44234,17378,310863,3757,2385,52369,1910,314980,3136,19176,8604,5615,4158,62,67,132,68,2452,314981],"class_list":{"0":"post-767872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-april","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-best-of-seven-series","11":"tag-blowout-win","12":"tag-day","13":"tag-doncic","14":"tag-game","15":"tag-game-time-decision-wednesday","16":"tag-houston-rockets","17":"tag-injury","18":"tag-lakers","19":"tag-lead","20":"tag-return","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-week","26":"tag-western-conference-semifinal"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116504263697591048","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}