Rockets stay alive against Lakers as Spurs and Celtics move closer

WASHINGTON: The Houston Rockets kept their NBA playoff hopes alive on Sunday with a 115-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, while the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics moved within one victory of advancing in their respective series.

Houston cut the Lakers' lead to 3-1 in their best-of-seven Western Conference matchup after recovering from an overtime defeat on Friday. Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 23 points, while Tari Eason added 20 and Alperen Sengun finished with 19.

The Rockets were again without Kevin Durant, but forced the Lakers into 24 turnovers, which led to 30 points for Houston.

Los Angeles, who can still wrap up the series in game five at home on Wednesday, were also missing injured leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Deandre Ayton paced the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but was thrown out in the third quarter after striking Sengun in the head with his forearm. The Lakers were already trailing by 19 points at that stage.

LeBron James, a four-time NBA champion, scored 10 points after making two of nine shots from the field. He also had nine assists and committed eight turnovers.

Houston are attempting to become the first team in NBA history to come back from 0-3 down and win a playoff series.

Wembanyama returns in style

In Portland, Victor Wembanyama returned from a one-game absence caused by a concussion and helped San Antonio beat the Trail Blazers 114-93 after the Spurs had trailed by 19 points.

Wembanyama produced 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals and seven blocks in a standout all-round display. De'Aaron Fox led all scorers with 28 points as San Antonio dominated the second half 73-35 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Spurs will try to seal the series at home in game five on Tuesday.

Wembanyama, who was named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is also in contention for the Most Valuable Player award, said,

“I had lots of emotions in me before the game, obviously. Excitement, frustration, so I let it all out tonight”, and praised the doctors who guided him through the NBA concussion protocol.

He also said “The way the situation was handled was very disappointing”, but declined to give further details.

Celtics overpower 76ers

In Philadelphia, Boston beat the 76ers 128-96 to open a 3-1 lead in the series, spoiling Joel Embiid's return to action.

Embiid was playing his first game since undergoing an emergency appendectomy on April 9. He scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Philadelphia were unable to respond to Boston's 24 three-pointers.

Payton Pritchard scored 32 points off the bench for the Celtics, while Jayson Tatum added 30 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Boston were 16 points ahead after the first quarter and remained in control by a double-digit margin for the rest of the game.

Raptors level series

In Toronto, the Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to square their series at 2-2.

Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 points each for Toronto, who prevailed despite making only four of 30 attempts from three-point range. The Raptors were five points behind with 2:10 remaining, but responded with a 9-0 run and held on for the win.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points for Cleveland and James Harden added 19. Mitchell missed two shots in the final 30 seconds, while Barnes made six free throws late in the game to secure the result.