Rockets Force Game 6 After 99-93 Win, Seek to Extend Series Against Lakers

The Houston Rockets have pushed their first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers to a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0, a position almost no NBA team has escaped even this far. Houston is just the 16th team in league playoff history to force a sixth game after losing the first three.

The Rockets stayed alive Wednesday night with a 99-93 win over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, cutting the Lakers’ lead in the Western Conference series to 3-2. Game 6 is set for Friday night at Toyota Center in Houston, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

The Lakers appeared in firm control after winning the first three games, including an overtime victory in Game 3. But Houston has responded with back-to-back wins in elimination games, extending a series that had looked close to over.

That turnaround has come without much help from Kevin Durant, who has missed most of the series with a left ankle bone bruise. Durant played only in Game 2, and NBA.com’s Game 6 preview, citing ESPN reporting, said he would not play Friday night.

Houston got a balanced effort in Game 5. Jabari Smith Jr. led the Rockets with 22 points, Tari Eason added 18, and center Alperen Şengün finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Rockets’ path remains narrow. No NBA team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, and only four teams have managed to push such a series to a Game 7. A Houston win Friday would put this group in that small category.

Still, the Rockets have framed the moment around persistence rather than history. “We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history and come back one game at a time,” Şengün said, according to an AP recap carried by CBS Sports.

Coach Ime Udoka struck a similar tone in NBA.com’s Game 6 preview. “We have a resilient group that plays hard and is very competitive every night,” Udoka said. “Rarely do we get blown out.”

Smith also emphasized the approach required as Houston tries to keep extending the series. “It’s a mindset to have,” he said in the NBA.com preview.

The pressure now shifts back to Houston, where the Rockets will try to turn a series that once looked settled into something far more uncomfortable for a Lakers team led by LeBron James. The historical standard is still clear: no NBA team has completed a comeback from 3-0, and the Rockets can force a Game 7 with a win Friday.