NBA

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers

· National Basketball Association
52-29, 23-18 Away
Final
109 - 140

50-31, 31-10 Home

Luka scores 39 points, Lakers wrap up Pacific title and No. 3 seed with win over resting Rockets

Luka lifts Lakers with 39-point performance vs. Rockets

Austin Reaves scored 23 points for the Lakers, who also clinched the Pacific Division title for only the second time in the last 13 seasons and won 50 games for just the second time in 14 years.

LeBron James scored 14 points before sitting out the final 19 minutes of Los Angeles' sixth win in eight games. Doncic played only the first three quarters.

Taking care of business against Houston likely means James and Doncic will get at least a full week off between this game and the start of the playoffs.

Alperen Sengun, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Jae’Sean Tate all sat out for the Rockets, leaving Houston without six of its top seven scorers.

Cam Whitmore scored a career-high 34 points for Houston, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the West on Tuesday when the Lakers lost at Oklahoma City. Four starters then sat out Wednesday while the Rockets lost to the Clippers.

Bronny James played the final 4:23.

Takeaways Rockets: “The argument is rest versus rust, I guess — getting them what they need with the layoff that’s coming,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “But we want to be smart about it. What I told the group was, you’ve earned the right to choose the path you want to take.”

Lakers: Dorian Finney-Smith had another strong perimeter game, hitting six 3-pointers.

Key moment When Udoka decided to rest four starters and two key reserves.

Key stat The Lakers have won 25 Pacific Division titles since the NBA began divisional play in 1970.

Up next The Lakers visit Portland on Sunday, and the Rockets host Denver.

Regular Season Series

LAL win series 2-1

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 109 - 140
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 109 - 140
4th 7.1 Bronny James defensive rebound 109 - 140
4th 10.0 David Roddy misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot 109 - 140
4th 24.1 Dalton Knecht makes dunk (Trey Jemison III assists) 109 - 140

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/lal.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAL
41-90 FG 53-87
45.6 Field Goal % 60.9
18-51 3PT 19-37
35.3 Three Point % 51.4
9-12 FT 15-25
75.0 Free Throw % 60.0
37 Rebounds 42
7 Offensive Rebounds 4
30 Defensive Rebounds 38
22 Assists 28
8 Steals 11
5 Blocks 1
18 Turnovers 12
1 Team Turnovers 1
19 Total Turnovers 13
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
25 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 8
15 Fast Break Points 9
44 Points in Paint 62
17 Fouls 15
6 Largest Lead 31
Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Augustas Marciulionis, G Day-To-Day Jul 26
Eric Dixon, F Day-To-Day Jul 26
Adou Thiero, F Day-To-Day Jul 22
Bronny James, G Day-To-Day Jul 18
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Reed Sheppard, G Day-To-Day Jul 21
N'Faly Dante, C Day-To-Day Jul 19
Dorian Finney-Smith, PF Day-To-Day Jul 3
Kevin Durant, PF Day-To-Day Jul 3

Game Information

crypto.com Arena

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 18,997 · Capacity:

2024-25 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 52 30 .634 - L3
Memphis 48 34 .585 4 W1
Dallas 39 43 .476 13 L1
San Antonio 34 48 .415 18 W1
New Orleans 21 61 .256 31 L7

2024-25 Pacific Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
LA Lakers - 32 L1 0.6097561 50
LA Clippers - 32 W8 0.6097561 50
Golden State 2 34 L1 0.58536583 48
Sacramento 10 42 W1 0.4878049 40
Phoenix 14 46 L1 0.4390244 36
Full Standings

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