LeBron James leads Lakers' rout of Rockets to close out series

LeBron James knew what was at stake in this first-round playoff series and that it was on him to meet the moment and have his teammates follow his lead.

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 to a 98-78 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at Toyota Center.

His 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds helped the Lakers clinch the best-of-seven series, 4-2, and now L.A. will meet the defending champion Thunder starting Tuesday night in Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

James and the Lakers had been on the verge of collapsing, their commanding 3-0 lead cut to 3-2. But James and his teammates let the Rockets know they were going to stay the course in Game 6 by building a big lead that grew to 25 in the third quarter.

James began to assert himself in the second quarter, scoring 14 points on five-for-eight shooting, making two of three from three-point range after going 0 for 9 in back-to-back losses. 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 an 18-point halftime lead that was never in jeopardy.

James was leading by example, something that increased on April 2 when Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) were injured in Oklahoma City and done for the regular season.

"I've done it throughout my career, for the majority of my career, but they still have to accept it," James said. "I 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.

"So, I'm happy I was able to do some things out there to make them understand that I guess I know what I'm doing at times and those guys, they were great in this series."

Rui Hachimura let James and the rest of his teammates 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.

Reaves, who returned in Game 5, started in Game 6, and Luke Kennard, who had started the first five playoff games and the last five regular-season games, came off the bench. Reaves did his part with 15 points, showing improved shooting by making half of his 14 shots.

Deandre Ayton had just seven points, but his 16 rebounds and defensive presence were powerful as the Lakers held the Rockets, who were without star Kevin Durant for the fifth time in the series, to a season low in points.

Smart was the defensive catalyst for the Lakers. He had two blocks, one in which he just raised up to swat a shot by the much-taller Tari Eason in the third quarter. His defense helped the Lakers limit the Rockets to a series-low 34.2% shooting and 17.9% from three-point range.

"We should be proud of the way we handled this," James said. "This our first time in a playoff series together as a unit and obviously being without [our] MVP candidate [Doncic] and then without AR for those first three games … 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."

James sat on the bench before the game, going through his routine, mentally preparing for the task ahead. He collected his thoughts and prepared to lead his younger teammates.

"I was just trying to immerse into the atmosphere," James said. "Also knowing how the game is going to be high, it's going to be low. But for me as the leader of the ballclub, I got to stay even-keeled. Talked to some of the higher gods above, give them my thanks and just take a few breaths and get ready for the arena. I have to be even-keeled throughout the whole thing."

After grabbing his last rebound with 3 minutes 17 seconds left and the Lakers leading by 26, James raised his hand to come out of the game. He left having played 37 minutes.

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.

Coach JJ Redick said every single player was making noises, "baahhhh, baahhhhh" - calling James the G.O.A.T. "It speaks to his greatness. To me, he's had the greatest career of any NBA player," Redick said. "You can argue all you want, and I really don't care to postulate on who's the greatest of all time, but he's one of, if not the greatest of all time. And for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it's really … it's baffling in some ways. "The 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'm really happy for him."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 10:02 PM.