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.