Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (52-30, fifth in the Western Conference)
Houston; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Rockets -9.5; over/under is 205.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Lakers lead series 2-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference first round with a 2-0 lead in the series. The Lakers won the last matchup 101-94 on Wednesday, led by 28 points from LeBron James. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 23.
The Rockets have gone 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Houston is 23-8 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 14.4 turnovers per game.
The Lakers are 33-19 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles is 8-3 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Rockets are shooting 47.9% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 48.3% the Lakers allow to opponents. The Lakers are shooting 50.2% from the field, 4.2% higher than the 46.0% the Rockets’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Durant is scoring 26.0 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson is averaging 18.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 59.5% over the past 10 games.
James is averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 7-3, averaging 117.5 points, 46.1 rebounds, 27.1 assists, 8.0 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points per game.
Lakers: 7-3, averaging 111.7 points, 39.9 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 9.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.5 points.
INJURIES: Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).
Lakers: Austin Reaves: out (oblique), Jake LaRavia: day to day (leg), Luka Doncic: out (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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