The Houston Rockets were not ready to go home.
Amen Thompson scored 23 points, Tari Eason added 20, and the Rockets avoided elimination with a 115-96 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series. The Rockets pulled back from an 0-3 series hole to stay alive, and Game 5 is Thursday in Los Angeles.
Kevin Durant missed his third game of the series—sitting out with a sprained left ankle after missing Game 1 with a bruised right knee—and the Rockets won without him anyway. Comfortably.
Everyone Showed Up for the Rockets
The entire Houston starting lineup scored at least 16 points. Thompson led with 23. Alperen Sengun added 19. Reed Sheppard contributed 17. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 16. Every starter delivered when the season was on the line.
“Backs against the wall, us coming to perform—but we know we can do that all the time,” Thompson said. “Today we were making shots. It’s the first time we were really making shots and we were capitalising on the turnovers.”
Houston led by nine at halftime, then used a 12-4 run to open the third quarter and push the lead to 68-51. By the time the third was done, the Rockets were ahead 90-65. It was over before the fourth quarter began in any meaningful sense.
Coach Ime Udoka pointed to Game 3—a devastating 112-108 overtime loss in which Houston squandered a six-point lead in the final 26 seconds of regulation—as the foundation for Sunday’s performance rather than a weight dragging them down.
“The focus was good today and guys have pride,” Udoka said. “You obviously don’t want to get swept. The perspective we had was that we played a really good three quarters in Game 3—don’t let that last 30 seconds take away from what you did. I think it was a good carryover tonight.”
The Lakers’ Night Fell Apart Early
Los Angeles managed just five three-pointers on a night when LeBron James was not at his best. James shot 2-for-9 from the field—including 0-for-3 from deep—finishing with 10 points, 9 assists, and 8 turnovers before sitting with about seven and a half minutes remaining. Through the first three games he had scored 19, 28, and 29. This was not that.
Marcus Smart missed both of his three-point attempts. Luke Kennard went 0-for-3. The Lakers, who had combined for 35 three-pointers through the first three games, looked nothing like that version of themselves on Monday.
James did not deflect. “The turnovers obviously killed us from start to finish,” he said. “If we want to win this series, we have to protect the ball and we have to defensively rebound and bring that toughness. I’m not worried about that. But the turnovers obviously killed us.”
The Lakers had 23 turnovers. Houston capitalised on them.
Ayton’s Ejection
Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds before being ejected with about five and a half minutes left in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul—hitting Sengun in the face with his elbow and forearm. The referee described the contact as “unnecessary and excessive.” With the game already slipping away and their best post presence now gone, Los Angeles had no viable path back.
Durant, absent from Game 3 while receiving treatment on his ankle, was on the bench Sunday to support his teammates. His return timeline for Game 5 remains uncertain—but if the Rockets play anywhere near this level again, it may not matter.
Houston is alive. The series goes back to Los Angeles.
