Rockets thrash LeBron’s Lakers; Wembanyama triumphant on Spurs’ return

The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 to enactment live successful the NBA playoffs arsenic San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama made a triumphant instrumentality to enactment the Spurs connected the brink of advancing.

Amen Thompson scored 23 points to substance the Rockets, who bounced backmost from a crushing overtime nonaccomplishment successful the past crippled to chopped the shortage successful their best-of-seven Western Conference bid to 3-1 connected Sunday.

The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads successful their series, with San Antonio rallying from 19 points down to bushed the Trail Blazers 114-93 successful Portland and Boston thrashed the 76ers 128-96 successful Philadelphia.

In Toronto, the Raptors edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to level their bid astatine 2 games apiece.

Denied a expanse successful Houston, the Lakers tin inactive decorativeness disconnected the Rockets erstwhile they big crippled 5 connected Wednesday.

The Rockets, inactive without prima Kevin Durant, harried the Lakers into 24 turnovers, yielding 30 Houston points.

Wemby returns to winning ways

In Portland, Wembanyama returned aft missing 1 crippled due to the fact that of a concussion and scored 27 points with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and a whopping 7 blocked shots.

“I had tons of emotions successful maine earlier the game, obviously,” said Wembanyama, named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and successful the moving for Most Valuable Player.

“Excitement, frustration, truthful I fto it each retired tonight,” helium said.

The 22-year-old Frenchman praised the doctors who oversaw his way done the NBA concussion protocol but voiced dissatisfaction with the process that requires a gradual instrumentality to carnal enactment nether aesculapian supervision.

“The mode the concern was handled was precise disappointing,” Wembanyama said, declining to elaborate.

San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox led each scorers with 28 points, and the Spurs outscored the Trail Blazers 73-35 successful the 2nd half.

They’ll effort to clinch the bid erstwhile they big crippled 5 connected Tuesday.

De’Aaron Fox led the scoring against the Portland Trail Blazers [Brian Babineau/Getty Images via AFP]

Houston Rockets successful comeback triumph implicit LA Lakers

Four-time NBA champion LeBron James made conscionable 2 of 9 attempts from the level connected the mode to 10 points. He handed retired 9 assists but made 8 turnovers.

With Los Angeles inactive missing their apical scorers successful injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, centre Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

But Los Angeles were already down by 19 erstwhile helium was ejected successful the 3rd 4th aft catching Rockets centre Alperen Sengun successful the caput with his forearm.

Tari Eason added 20 points, and Sengun scored 19 for Houston, who are trying to go the archetypal NBA squad to rally from an 0-3 shortage to triumph a playoff series.

Amen Thompson celebrates with Reed Sheppard arsenic LeBron James looks connected [Tim Warner/Getty Images via AFP]

Celtics thump 76ers

The Celtics spoiled the instrumentality of 76ers prima Joel Embiid, who played his archetypal crippled since undergoing an exigency appendectomy connected April 9 .

Payton Pritchard scored 32 points disconnected the bench, and Jayson Tatum scored 30 points with 7 rebounds and 11 assists for the Celtics, who led by 16 points aft 1 4th and by treble digits the remainder of the way.

Embiid led the 76ers with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Philadelphia couldn’t antagonistic the Celtics’ barrage of 24 three-pointers.

In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 points apiece arsenic the Raptors held disconnected the Cavaliers contempt making conscionable 4 of 30 from three-point range.

The Raptors trailed by 5 with 2:10 near to play but surged up with a 9-0 scoring burst and held on.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points to pb the Cavs, and James Harden added 19, but Mitchell missed 2 attempts successful the last 30 seconds arsenic Barnes made six escaped throws down the agelong to seal it.

Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics shoots against the Philadelphia 76ers [Emilee Chinn/Getty Images via AFP]