By: Jennifer Portee
4/30/2026
Houston fought hard for a 99-93 win over the Lakers in Game 5 Wednesday night keeping their playoff hopes alive with back-to-back victories that cut L.A.’s series lead to 3-2. Jabari Smith Jr. topped the scoring with 22 points, Tari Eason added 18, and Alperen Sengun had a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, pushing Game 6 back home on Friday.
The fifth-seeded Rockets have now won two straight without their star Kevin Durant, who’s sat out four of five games due to injury.
No NBA team has ever come back from an 0-3 hole to win a series, but Houston’s halfway there after forcing a potential Game 7 only four of 159 teams have ever done that much.
LeBron James scored 25 points with seven assists, including 17 after halftime, but the Lakers stumbled with 15 turnovers in their worst game yet. Austin Reaves had 22 points and six assist in his return from a nine-game injury, while Deandre Ayton contributed 18 points and 17 rebounds still no Luka Doncic, though, as the scoring champ nurses a hamstring strain.
Houston carried a 87-74 lead late before L.A. made a desperate 11-1 push to pull within three. Reed Sheppard sealed it, though, draining a jumper then swiping the ball from James for a thunderous dunk with 2:20 left a sweet rebound from his Game 3 miscue that nearly cost them.
Sengun put it best postgame: “We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history… Play at home, come back here, just do the same thing.” Sheppard, battling a cold, added: “After Game 3, we could have pouted… We keep fighting.”
James stayed cool: “It’s one game… They played well the last two, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer.” For the top-seeded Thunder waiting in the wings after sweeping Phoenix, Houston’s fight is music to their ears. Game 6 is Friday in Texas pressure’s on, but the Rockets are rolling.