Rockets-Lakers: How LeBron James is carrying L.A. without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves

When the Los Angeles Lakers lost Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves , their top two scorers during the regular season, just two weeks before the start of the 2026 NBA playoffs , it seemed like a fatal blow to their chances of not only contending for the NBA title, but of even making it out of the opening round of the postseason. A 3-2 finish after losing Dončić and Reaves — with the wins coming over the Warriors minus Stephen Curry, the Suns minus Devin Booker, and the Jazz minus an NBA roster — did little to dispel that notion; a matchup against a tough, physical Houston Rockets team with a top-five defense and plenty of youth and athleticism on the wing seemed like one the Lakers wouldn’t survive. They’re doing a hell of a lot more than surviving, taking the first two games of their opening-round matchup and leaving the Rockets looking overmatched and shell-shocked heading into Game 3 back in Houston on Friday .

There are plenty of reasons for that: Kevin Durant missing Game 1 and the Lakers haranguing him into nine turnovers in Game 2 ; Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart shooting a combined 19-for-33 (57. 6%) from 3-point range through two games ; Deandre Ayton holding Alperen Şengün to just 5-for-19 shooting when they’ve been matched up; etc. One of the biggest ones, though?

LeBron James, it turns out, still knows how to take the reins of a playoff series and — even at age 41 — make sure it’s played on his terms and at his pace. “We all got to pick up our play,” James told reporters after the Lakers’ 101-94 Game 2 win . “When you’ve got two big guns out like we have, we all got to pick up our play.

And that’s all it’s about. We’re all just trying to contribute, make contributions in all facets of the game, pick up our play. ” One way LeBron’s been picking his up?