HOUSTON (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick thought his team’s season might be over when star players Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both suffered injuries during their April 2 matchup.
Rather than giving up, the Lakers rallied together and overcame the setbacks to defeat the Houston Rockets in a six-game series, earning them a spot against top-ranked Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals.
This marks the first time Los Angeles has reached the second playoff round since 2023, when they fell to Denver in the Western Conference championship.
LeBron James delivered 28 points during Friday night’s Game 6, while the Lakers’ aggressive defensive play limited Houston to their lowest point total of the season in a dominant 98-78 win.
“It speaks to his greatness,” Redick said. “To me, he’s had the greatest career of any NBA player. You can argue all you want and I really don’t care to postulate on who’s the greatest of all time, but he’s one of, if not the greatest of all time.”
“And for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it’s really — it’s baffling in some ways,” Redick continued.
The Lakers jumped ahead 3-0 in the series before dropping two consecutive games, setting up the decisive sixth game in Houston against a Rockets squad that played without Kevin Durant for five of the six contests.
Los Angeles competed throughout the entire series without Doncic, though Reaves made his comeback for the final two games to help secure their advancement.
Their upcoming Thunder series was originally scheduled to begin Sunday, but Game 1 was delayed until Tuesday night after Toronto defeated Cleveland 112-110 in overtime on RJ Barrett’s clutch three-pointer, forcing a seventh game.
“Thanks to Toronto,” James said. “Thank you, RJ Barrett. Appreciate it. Haven’t seen a shot in Toronto like that since Kawhi (Leonard).”
The 41-year-old James welcomed the additional rest days after playing an average of 38.5 minutes per game for his injury-depleted squad during this series.
“Heck yeah,” he said. “I can go on the golf course now. That’s what I’m thinking about.”
James plans to begin studying Oklahoma City by Sunday.
“It’s the defending champion,” he said. “So, it’s a tall task.”
Oklahoma City will enter well-rested after completing their Phoenix sweep on Monday evening.
Redick praised both James and veteran teammate Marcus Smart for providing leadership that kept the team focused following the injuries to Doncic and Reaves, who together averaged over 56 points during the regular season.
“For us to be written off a few weeks ago and to win a playoff series is a big deal,” Redick said. “And it just speaks to the character of our team and the leaders of our team that they didn’t let go of the rope.”
Smart, playing his first year with Los Angeles, expressed pride in how the Lakers battled through adversity to claim the series victory, believing this unity will benefit them moving forward in the playoffs.
“It means everything,” he said. “It shows our resilience and it shows the belief that we have our next man up… and it just shows that no matter how depleted we are, we’re always going to go out there and compete and give it everything we got.”
