
The Los Angeles Lakers are on the road on Friday night as they travel to take on the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Los Angeles enters Friday’s game with a 2-0 series lead after defeating Houston at home in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
In Tuesday’s victory over the Rockets, LeBron James led the way for the Lakers as he recorded 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Marcus Smart added 25 points and seven assists of his own.
Now Los Angeles will try to grab another victory on the road over the Rockets in Game 3 on Friday as they look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
On the other side, the Rockets enter Friday’s contest trailing 0-2 in the series after losing on the road to the Lakers in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Kevin Durant led the way for the Rockets in Tuesday’s loss as he ended the game with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists while Alperen Sengun recorded 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
While both teams are looking to pick up a victory in Game 3 on Friday night, both squads may be without multiple key players due to injuries.
For the Lakers, they have two players listed on their injury report for Game 3 on Friday in Houston.
Los Angeles has listed Austin Reaves as questionable due to a left oblique strain and there is a chance he could return from a seven-game absence on Friday night.
Austin Reaves has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3 vs. Houston tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/qOYZYtpDUn
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 23, 2026
The Lakers have ruled out Luka Doncic due to a left hamstring strain as he will miss his eighth consecutive contest and it was reported earlier in the week that Los Angeles does not expect him to return from injury in the first round.
With Doncic still sidelined, Luke Kennard, Smart and Rui Hachimura could all continue to have larger roles.
The good news for the Lakers is that Jake LaRavia is off their injury report after leaving Tuesday’s victory due to an ankle sprain.
On the other side, the Rockets have three players listed on their injury report for Friday, including Durant.
Houston has listed Durant as questionable due to a left ankle sprain and he is also still dealing with a right knee contusion that kept him out of Game 1.
Rockets star Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) is listed QUESTIONABLE for Game 3 against the Lakers.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2026
Durant has been dealing with a knee contusion but now pops up on the injury report with a sprained ankle pic.twitter.com/K9w8aXD9VJ
If Durant is sidelined, Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie could both be in line for increased roles.
The Rockets have ruled out Fred VanVleet due to a torn ACL while Steven Adams will miss the remainder of the season while recovering from ankle surgery.
Fans can catch Game 3 of the first-round series between the Lakers and Rockets from Houston at 8:00 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video.
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