Rockets deny Lakers' sweep in 115-96 Game 4 blowout
Apr 26, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) controls the ball as Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) defends during the first quarter during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. HOUSTON -- Roughly 16 years have passed since the Los Angeles Lakers last brought out the brooms in the NBA Playoffs, sweeping the Utah Jazz in the midst of their 2010 championship run. After handing the Rockets a soul-crushing overtime defeat in Game 3, Sunday night in Houston presented the Lakers an opportunity for their first clean sweep in over a decade.
However, the job was not finished in four, as a resilient version of the Rockets pulverized the Lakers in 115-96 fashion to extend the series to a fifth game. The Rockets never led by more than six in the first three meetings of the series, but in Game 4, they spent nearly the entirety of the second half operating with a double-digit advantage. The two ingredients were turnover creation and a significant disparity beyond the arc.
“Defense wasn’t our problem tonight. It was our offense,” Lakers small forward LeBron James said. “We turned the ball over 24 times for 30 points.
Defense wasn’t our problem. ” Los Angeles withstood its turnover woes in Games 1 and 3, claiming a 3-0 series edge despite coughing up the ball 20+ times in both of those contests. However, overcoming the Game 4 turnover bug proved insurmountable for the purple and gold Sunday.
The Lakers committed a series-high 24, a number which nearly doubled the Rockets’ 13 giveaways. “We were dropping passes, myself included,” Smart said. “I was throwing passes to guys’ legs, normal passes that we make on a regular basis.
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