Rockets (52-30) finish season with win, draw Lakers as playoff opponent

In a high-profile matchup, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets (52-30) will face LeBron James and the Lakers (53-29) in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Game 1 tips off in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. Central, and it will be televised and streamed to a national audience via ABC. The availability of Luka Doncic (hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (oblique strain), who led the Lakers in scoring this season, remains very much in doubt.

Dates for the remainder of the best-of-seven series will be announced following results of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, which takes place from April 14-17.

Games 3 and 4, along with a possible Game 6, will be played at Toyota Center in Houston — where the Rockets went 29-12 at home this season.

Tickets to all potential first-round home games in Houston can be purchased on Monday, April 13, with additional information available at the team’s official website of Rockets.com.

Ime Udoka said the Rockets were watching the end of the Nuggets-Spurs game in the locker room.

On playing the shorthanded LA Lakers in the first round:

"For us, obviously it's fresh that we lost two games to them recently and then kind of flipped the switch since then. Had a… pic.twitter.com/pTPuIAheeA

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) April 13, 2026

Historically, this will be the 10th time for the Rockets and Lakers to meet in the NBA playoffs, and the first since the 2020 Western Conference semifinals. That series was played in Orlando as part of the NBA’s “bubble” experience.

Since NBA adopted its current 16-team playoff format in 1983-84, the fourth- and fifth-seeded teams have an even series record against each other (42-42). The Rockets won their second title in 1994-95 as the sixth seed and are still the lowest-seeded champion in NBA history.

BRON 🆚 KD. ONE LAST TIME?

The Lakers and Rockets will meet in the first round 🔥 pic.twitter.com/c9VHk4W8nW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 13, 2026

The 2025-26 Rockets finished their regular season with Sunday’s 132-101 victory (box score) over Memphis, which featured Clint Capela leading the way with a season-high 23 points (81.8% FG), 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Since the Rockets were locked into the West’s No. 5 seed before the game, Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. all sat out to rest. Each is believed to be healthy, and all should be fully available for Game 1 against the Lakers next weekend.

More: As playoffs loom, Amen Thompson scores career-high 41 points for Rockets

CLINT CAPELA HITS HIS FIRST-CAREER 3 🎯

739 GAMES.
1 3PM. pic.twitter.com/DnR1E0ZUVQ

— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2026

"At first I couldn't believe it."
-Clint Capela on hitting his 1st career 3-pointer in tonight's #Rockets WIN

CC talked with @SportsVanessa after his big game vs Memphis🏀23 PTS🏀13 REB (7 OFF)🏀@HoustonRockets I #AllFirepic.twitter.com/Ge1vB5hR2B

— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) April 13, 2026

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets (52-30) finish season with win, draw Lakers as playoff opponent