Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 4/24/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets

Date: Friday, April 24, 2026

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Prime Video

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+10.0)

The Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) are headed to Toyota Center on Friday where they will try to beat the Houston Rockets (52-30) in Game 3 of their series. The Lakers lead 2-0. Houston opens as 10.0-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total is 206.

The Lakers notched a win by a score of 101-94 in Game 2. Los Angeles wrapped up the contest with a 45.8% field goal percentage (33 of 72) and buried 13 of their 28 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Lakers made 22 of 28 attempts for a rate of 78.6%. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they collected 37 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 21 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and having 11 steals. In terms of the defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 40.4% from the field on 36 of 89 shooting. Houston doled out 23 assists and had 8 steals for the game. In addition, Houston grabbed 42 rebounds (17 offensive, 25 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. Houston finished the game shooting 78.9% when shooting free throws by burying 15 of their 19 attempts. They made 7 out of their 29 tries from three-point range. When it comes to fouls, the Lakers ended up walking away with 20 and the Rockets totaled 22 fouls.

LeBron James is someone who had an impact in the game. He ended up scoring 28 points on 8 out of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 39 mins played and snagged 8 rebounds. James finished shooting 40.0% from the field and also totaled 7 assists.

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Los Angeles comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 53-29 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 116.3 points per game (11th in the league) on 50.2% from the field. The Lakers are connecting on 35.9% on three-point attempts (970 of 2,701) and 76.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Los Angeles is grabbing 41.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 2,122 assists for the season, which is 17th in basketball in terms of passing. They cough up possession 14.5 times per game and as a group they commit 18.5 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Lakers are able to force 14.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.0 personal fouls. They rank 18th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,250 conceded for the season. The Lakers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 48.3% (3,485 of 7,221) and they surrender 41.0 boards per contest as a team. They concede 35.2% on 3-pointers while they are 11th in basketball in PPG allowed (114.6).

Houston again had a lot of issues they'll need to resolve In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Houston permitted Los Angeles to pull down 37 in all (9 offensive). They finished the game shooting 46.4% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 13 out of 28 and ended up shooting 22 out of 28 at the free throw line (78.6%). The Rockets allowed the Lakers to bury 33 out of 72 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 45.8% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Rockets ended up going 36 out of 89 from the floor which had them shooting 40.4%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, Houston buried 7 of their 29 attempts (24.1%). They were able to convert 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 78.9%. The Lakers committed 20 fouls for this game which took the Rockets to the charity stripe for a total of 19 shots. They also turned it over 15 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Rockets collected 25 defensive rebounds and 17 offensive boards totaling 42 in this game.

Kevin Durant was important for the Rockets for the contest. Durant scored 23 points in his 41 mins of playing time and accounted for 4 dimes in the game. He converted 7 of 12 in the game for a field goal rate of 58.3%, and had 6 rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss mark of 52-30 so far this season. As an offensive unit, the Rockets are shooting 47.9% from the floor, which is 10th in the NBA. Houston has scored 9,449 pts this season (115.2 per contest) and they grab 48.1 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 25.4 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they turn it over 15.4 times per game. The Rockets commit 18.3 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 76.3% from the charity stripe.

The Houston defense surrenders 35.1% on 3-point shots (1,014 of 2,892) and opponents are making 75.6% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 24.5 dimes and 39.5 total boards per game, which has them ranked 3rd and 2nd in the NBA. The Rockets on defense are ranked 4th in basketball in PPG given up with 110.0. They are able to force 13.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.0% from the floor (6th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles (+10.0)

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