LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic had 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 140-109 victory over the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Saturday, April 12, 2025 (PH time).
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.
After clinching the Pacific Division title and the third seed in the playoffs with their 50th victory of the season, their postgame celebration was both wild and wet.
The jubilant shouts and roars from their locker room could be heard through the cement walls of the tunnel in their downtown arena. The aquatic element of the festivities became obvious moments later when coach JJ Redick emerged with damp hair and wearing a green Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, which he called “the only dry item of clothing I have.”
“Hopefully, in the next nine days, the $17,000 in damage to the carpet can get fixed,” Redick said jokingly. “There was about eight ice buckets put on me.”
Redick and his players had earned a few moments of fun. A team led by a rookie head coach and LeBron James has navigated through a massive midseason trade, survived several recent setbacks and emerged as a clear contender for a deep playoff run.
And perhaps even a title challenge for a franchise with 17 banners already in the rafters?
“I feel like we can win a championship, to be honest with you,” Austin Reaves said. “The reason for that is I know everybody in that locker room believes that.”
James didn’t speak to the media after the game, but Luka Doncic echoed Reaves’ assessment of the Lakers’ belief in their championship quality after they wrapped up the division with their seventh win in 10 games down the stretch.
“I think we have the team to do it,” said Doncic, who scored 39 points in three quarters against the Rockets. “When everybody is locked in, we’re a hard team to beat, so that’s our goal.”
The goal seems increasingly realistic, which is even more impressive because this version of the Lakers has only been together for two months.
Doncic played his first game for Los Angeles on Feb. 10, several days after the Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world by dealing the Slovenian superstar in a package for Anthony Davis. The Lakers are 19-12 since then — not a jaw-dropping record, but one that stands out given the upheaval they’ve faced. / AP