Lakers vs Houston Rockets Match Player Stats: Full Breakdown

Lakers vs Houston Rockets match player stats explain exactly how Los Angeles won one of the most dramatic first-round series of the 2026 NBA playoffs. The Lakers took the Western Conference series 4-2 and closed it with a 98-78 victory in Game 6 on May 1, 2026, at Toyota Center in Houston. This guide breaks down every key number from that clincher, compares it with the five earlier games, and shows how scorers, rebounders, passers, and defenders shaped the outcome. You will also find the regular-season meeting from March, a plain-English lesson on reading a box score, and the date of the next Lakers and Rockets game, so you can find the full picture in one place.

Quick Summary of the Latest Lakers and Rockets Result

The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 98-78 in Game 6 on May 1, 2026, and won the first-round series 4-2. LeBron James led all scorers with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Deandre Ayton pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Amen Thompson scored 18 points to lead Houston, which finished with its lowest point total of the season.

Lakers vs Houston Rockets Match Player Stats From the Game 6 Clincher

The Lakers made 36 of 89 shots (40.4%), hit 12 of 28 three-pointers (42.9%), and collected 54 rebounds in the series-ending win. They also dished out 19 assists, blocked 9 shots, and committed only 10 turnovers. Those totals look modest on paper, but they came against a Houston offense that never found a rhythm. The starters and the top bench players produced almost all of the scoring for the Lakers, and the table below shows their lines.

Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT
LeBron James	37:07	28	7	8	10-25	2-5
Rui Hachimura	34:44	21	6	2	8-15	5-7
Austin Reaves	30:41	15	3	2	7-14	0-4
Deandre Ayton	28:10	7	16	1	2-6	0-0
Marcus Smart	34:53	7	7	1	2-7	2-4
Jake LaRavia	16:15	7	5	0	3-8	1-2
Jaxson Hayes	16:43	5	4	1	1-1	0-0
Luke Kennard	29:00	3	3	3	1-6	1-2

Lakers Player Notes

LeBron James played 37 minutes and shot 10 of 25 from the field. He added six made free throws, seven rebounds, and eight assists, and he finished with a plus-minus of +26. His three turnovers were the only real blemish on a strong night.

Rui Hachimura shot 8 of 15 and made 5 of 7 three-pointers for 21 points. Austin Reaves scored 15 points in his second game back from an oblique injury that had sidelined him for more than three weeks, and he also blocked three shots.

Deandre Ayton scored only seven points, yet his 16 rebounds ended most Houston possessions after a single shot. Thirteen of those boards came on the defensive glass. Marcus Smart also scored just seven points, but he finished with a +25 rating, seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. His box score understates his value, which is a common story with defensive guards.

Houston Rockets Player Stats and Where the Offense Broke Down

Houston scored 78 points in Game 6, the lowest total of its season, according to the ESPN recap. The Rockets made only 5 of 28 three-point attempts (17.9%), and guard Reed Sheppard went 1 for 10 from long range. That was a steep drop from the previous two games, when Houston hit 26 threes combined while avoiding elimination.

Amen Thompson led Houston with 18 points, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Jabari Smith Jr. grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, and Tari Eason recorded three steals. Kevin Durant, the Rockets’ biggest star, missed all but one game of the series because of a knee injury followed by an ankle sprain. His absence left Houston without its top scoring option for the clincher. For the complete Houston lines, including Alperen Sengun’s night, check the official box score on NBA.com or Yahoo Sports.

How the Lakers Built Their Lead in Game 6

Los Angeles won the game in the second quarter. The Lakers trailed by five points with about five minutes left in the first quarter, then went on a 27-3 run that stretched into the second period. That burst put them ahead 38-19 with roughly seven minutes left before halftime, and James, Hachimura, and LaRavia all hit three-pointers during it.

The quarter scores show how one-sided the middle of the game became:

• First quarter: Lakers 23, Rockets 18
• Second quarter: Lakers 26, Rockets 13
• Third quarter: Rockets 24, Lakers 22
• Fourth quarter: Lakers 27, Rockets 23

The Lakers led 49-31 at halftime. Houston won the third quarter by two points, yet it never cut the margin to a number that threatened the outcome. The Lakers also played without Luka Doncic, who was listed as inactive with an injury or illness, so the win came from depth and defense rather than star power alone.

Game-by-Game Results of the 2026 Series

The Lakers won Games 1, 2, and 3, the Rockets answered with wins in Games 4 and 5, and Los Angeles ended it in Game 6. Houston’s comeback attempt fell short, but the series was closer than a 4-2 score suggests. Three games were decided by seven points or fewer, and Game 3 needed overtime.

Game	Date	Site	Result	Top Performers
1	Apr 18	Los Angeles	Lakers 107, Rockets 98	Luke Kennard 27 (LAL); Sengun 19 (HOU)
2	Apr 21	Los Angeles	Lakers 101, Rockets 94	LeBron James 28 (LAL); Kevin Durant 23 (HOU)
3	Apr 24	Houston	Lakers 112, Rockets 108 (OT)	James 29 (LAL); Sengun 33 pts, 16 reb (HOU)
4	Apr 26	Houston	Rockets 115, Lakers 96	Amen Thompson 23 pts, 7 ast (HOU)
5	Apr 29	Los Angeles	Rockets 99, Lakers 93	Jabari Smith Jr. 22 (HOU)
6	May 1	Houston	Lakers 98, Rockets 78	James 28 (LAL); Thompson 18 (HOU)

Standout Player Performances Across the Series

LeBron James produced in every Lakers win. He recorded 19 points and 13 assists in Game 1, 28 points with 8 rebounds and 7 assists in Game 2, and 29 points in Game 3, including a tying three-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation. At 41 years old, he played more than 45 minutes in that overtime win. He closed the series with 28 points in Game 6.

Luke Kennard emerged as the surprise scorer. He hit a career playoff-high 27 points in Game 1, made four three-pointers, and added 23 more in Game 2. The Lakers acquired him from Atlanta in early February, and his shooting touch gave the short-handed roster a reliable second option.

Marcus Smart delivered when the game got tight. He finished Game 3 with 21 points and 10 assists, and he scored eight of his points in overtime. Rui Hachimura added 22 points in that game and 21 in the clincher. Deandre Ayton put up 19 points and 11 rebounds in the opener, then controlled the glass in Game 6.

For Houston, Alperen Sengun posted the best individual line of the series with 33 points and 16 rebounds in Game 3. Amen Thompson matched him that night with 26 points and 11 rebounds, then scored 23 points with seven assists in Game 4. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points in Game 5, and Tari Eason added 20 points in Game 4 and 18 in Game 5. Reed Sheppard hit five three-pointers on the way to 17 points in Game 1. Kevin Durant scored 23 points in Game 2 but only three of them came in the second half, and injuries then kept him out of Games 3 through 6.

If you enjoy this style of recap, you can compare it with our Bucks player stats breakdown for another Lakers game.

Regular-Season Meeting on March 18, 2026

The Lakers beat the Rockets 124-116 in Houston on March 18, 2026, which stretched their winning streak to seven games. Luka Doncic scored 40 points, and LeBron James added 30 on 13-of-14 shooting, which tied the best single-game shooting effort of his career. James also pulled down five rebounds, which pushed his career total to 12,002 and made him the 23rd player in NBA history to reach 12,000.

Houston stayed close behind Alperen Sengun, who returned from a two-game absence with a back issue and finished with 27 points and 10 assists. Amen Thompson added 26 points and 11 rebounds. Durant hit a three-pointer that gave the Rockets a 105-102 lead with about 6:30 remaining, but Hachimura and Doncic answered with consecutive threes, and the Lakers closed the game strongly.

That March result foreshadowed the playoff series. In both settings, the Lakers leaned on veteran scoring from James, timely three-point shooting, and enough defensive stops down the stretch.

Key Stats That Explain the Result

Shooting efficiency is the clearest pattern in the Lakers vs Houston Rockets match player stats from this series. In Game 1, the Lakers shot 60.6% from the field while Houston shot 37.6%. Los Angeles won that game even though it attempted just 66 shots, the fewest in an NBA game over the previous three seasons, and even though it gave up 21 offensive rebounds.

The same theme showed up again in Game 2, when the Rockets shot 40.4% and made only seven three-pointers. It reached its peak in Game 6, when Houston hit just 5 of 28 from deep. When the Rockets shot well from three, as they did in Games 4 and 5, they won. When they missed, the Lakers’ defense capitalized.

Rebounding and rim protection also mattered. Ayton’s 16 rebounds and the Lakers’ nine blocks in the clincher helped control the paint. The Lakers also protected the ball, giving it away only 10 times in Game 6.

Another useful number is plus-minus. James finished +26 and Smart finished +25 in Game 6, which tells you the Lakers dominated the minutes those two played. Ayton, who played a heavy rebounding role, finished at +5, so the lineup around him mattered as much as his own totals.

How to Read a Lakers and Rockets Box Score

A box score lists what each player did while on the court, and a few abbreviations cover most of it. Once you know them, any game becomes easy to scan.

• MIN: Minutes played. This shows how much the coach trusted a player.
• PTS: Total points scored.
• REB: Total rebounds, split into offensive and defensive boards.
• AST: Assists, or passes that lead directly to a made basket.
• STL and BLK: Steals and blocked shots, the main defensive counting stats.
• TO: Turnovers, or possessions lost without a shot.
• FG, 3PT, FT: Shots made and attempted. A line of 10-25 means 10 makes on 25 tries.
• +/-: The team’s point margin while that player was on the floor.

Efficiency matters more than raw points. James scored 28 on 10-of-25 shooting, while Hachimura scored 21 on 8-of-15. Both helped, yet Hachimura’s percentage made him the more efficient scorer that night. Use shooting splits, rebounds, and plus-minus together before you decide who played best.

What to Watch in the Next Lakers and Rockets Game

The NBA schedule lists the next Lakers and Rockets meeting for Monday, November 30, 2026, at Toyota Center in Houston, with a 4:30 p.m. Pacific start. Rosters change between seasons, so check the official injury report and projected lineups before tip-off.

Three matchups deserve attention. First, watch how Houston’s frontcourt handles the Lakers’ rebounding, since Ayton and Smith Jr. each pulled down at least 11 rebounds in playoff games. Second, track three-point volume, because that stat swung the series. Third, follow the minutes of the stars on both sides, because availability changed the outcome of several games last spring.

Houston sports fans who also follow baseball can see how we handle a similar breakdown in our Astros game guide.

Conclusion

The Lakers vs Houston Rockets match player stats from the 2026 playoff series point to one clear lesson: shooting and defense decided the series. Los Angeles won 4-2, finished with a 98-78 Game 6 victory, and got standout work from LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton. Houston showed real fight behind Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason, but it could not overcome injuries and cold three-point shooting. Check back after the November 30 game for fresh numbers.

FAQs

Who won the Lakers vs Rockets series in 2026?

The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2026 Western Conference first-round series 4-2. They took Games 1, 2, and 3, lost Games 4 and 5, and closed the series with a 98-78 victory in Game 6 at Toyota Center in Houston on May 1, 2026.

Who scored the most points in Lakers vs Rockets Game 6?

LeBron James scored the most points in Game 6 with 28. He shot 10 of 25 from the field and added 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Rui Hachimura followed with 21 points for the Lakers, while Amen Thompson led the Houston Rockets with 18 points.

Which Rockets player had the best game in the series?

Alperen Sengun posted the best individual line in the series with 33 points and 16 rebounds in Game 3, a 112-108 overtime loss. Amen Thompson also played well, scoring 26 points with 11 rebounds in that game and 23 points with seven assists in Game 4.

When do the Lakers play the Rockets next?

The NBA schedule shows the next Lakers and Rockets game on Monday, November 30, 2026, at Toyota Center in Houston. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. Confirm the start time and injury report on the official NBA website, because schedules and rosters can change.

Where can I find the full Lakers vs Rockets box score?

You can find full box scores on NBA.com, ESPN, and Yahoo Sports. Each site lists minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, and shooting splits for every player, along with team totals and quarter-by-quarter scores. Check them after each game for the most complete and up-to-date player stats.