Los Angeles hosts Houston to start playoffs
Houston Rockets (52-30, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) Los Angeles; Saturday, 8:30 p. m.
EDT LINE: Rockets -5. 5; over/under is 207. 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Lakers host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets to open the Western Conference first round.
Los Angeles went 2-1 against Houston during the regular season. The Lakers won the last regular season matchup 124-116 on Thursday, March 19 led by 40 points from Luka Doncic, while Alperen Sengun scored 27 points for the Rockets. The Lakers are 33-19 in Western Conference games.
Los Angeles has an 8-3 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Rockets are 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Houston has a 5-9 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Lakers make 50. 2% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4. 2 percentage points higher than the Rockets have allowed to their opponents (46.