Revealed On 27 Apr 2026
The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 to remain alive within the NBA playoffs as San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama made a triumphant return to place the Spurs on the point of advancing.
Amen Thompson scored 23 factors to gas the Rockets, who bounced again from a crushing additional time loss within the final sport to chop the deficit of their best-of-seven Western Convention sequence to 3-1 on Sunday.
The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads of their sequence, with San Antonio rallying from 19 factors right down to beat the Path Blazers 114-93 in Portland and Boston thrashed the 76ers 128-96 in Philadelphia.
In Toronto, the Raptors edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to stage their sequence at two video games apiece.
Denied a sweep in Houston, the Lakers can nonetheless end off the Rockets once they host sport 5 on Wednesday.
The Rockets, nonetheless with out star Kevin Durant, harried the Lakers into 24 turnovers, yielding 30 Houston factors.
Wemby returns to successful methods
In Portland, Wembanyama returned after lacking one sport due to a concussion and scored 27 factors with 11 rebounds, three assists, 4 steals and a whopping seven blocked pictures.
“I had a number of feelings in me earlier than the sport, clearly,” mentioned Wembanyama, named the 2026 NBA Defensive Participant of the Yr and within the working for Most Worthwhile Participant.
“Pleasure, frustration, so I let all of it out tonight,” he mentioned.
The 22-year-old Frenchman praised the medical doctors who oversaw his path by the NBA concussion protocol however voiced dissatisfaction with the method that requires a gradual return to bodily exercise below medical supervision.
“The best way the state of affairs was dealt with was very disappointing,” Wembanyama mentioned, declining to elaborate.
San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 28 factors, and the Spurs outscored the Path Blazers 73-35 within the second half.
They’ll attempt to clinch the sequence once they host sport 5 on Tuesday.
De’Aaron Fox led the scoring towards the Portland Path Blazers [Brian Babineau/Getty Images via AFP]
Houston Rockets in comeback win over LA Lakers
4-time NBA champion LeBron James made simply two of 9 makes an attempt from the ground on the best way to 10 factors. He handed out 9 assists however made eight turnovers.
With Los Angeles nonetheless lacking their high scorers in injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, centre Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 factors and 10 rebounds.
However Los Angeles have been already down by 19 when he was ejected within the third quarter after catching Rockets centre Alperen Sengun within the head together with his forearm.
Tari Eason added 20 factors, and Sengun scored 19 for Houston, who’re making an attempt to grow to be the primary NBA workforce to rally from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff sequence.
Amen Thompson celebrates with Reed Sheppard as LeBron James appears on [Tim Warner/Getty Images via AFP]
Celtics thump 76ers
The Celtics spoiled the return of 76ers star Joel Embiid, who performed his first sport since present process an emergency appendectomy on April 9 .
Payton Pritchard scored 32 factors off the bench, and Jayson Tatum scored 30 factors with seven rebounds and 11 assists for the Celtics, who led by 16 factors after one quarter and by double digits the remainder of the best way.
Embiid led the 76ers with 26 factors and 10 rebounds, however Philadelphia couldn’t counter the Celtics’ barrage of 24 three-pointers.
In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 factors apiece because the Raptors held off the Cavaliers regardless of making simply 4 of 30 from three-point vary.
The Raptors trailed by 5 with 2:10 left to play however surged forward with a 9-0 scoring burst and held on.
Donovan Mitchell scored 20 factors to steer the Cavs, and James Harden added 19, however Mitchell missed two makes an attempt within the last 30 seconds as Barnes made six free throws down the stretch to seal it.
Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics shoots towards the Philadelphia 76ers [Emilee Chinn/Getty Images via AFP]
