Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets Prediction, Odds and Picks for Tomorrow, 04/24/26

The Houston Rockets find themselves in a must win scenario as they head back to Houston Friday night to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in game three of their opening round series. The Lakers took the first two games of the series despite Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves sitting out the games with injury. With a 41-year-old LeBron James taking over as their number one scoring option, the Lakers have turned to their defense to win the opening games. The Lakers have held the Rockets under 100 points and under 40% shooting in each of the opening contests. On offense, James has been great, but the real scoring threat that the Rockets cannot slow down in the first two games has been Luke Kennard. Kennard has averaged 25 points on 65% shooting in the two games played in Los Angeles, and the Lakers will hope his play will continue on the road. To pick up the win Friday night, the Rockets will need their stars to shine more than they did in Los Angeles. Alperen Sengun struggled in the opening games, averaging 19.5 points on only 38.5% shooting. Head coach Ime Udoka was hoping Sengun could be a big advantage down low matching up against Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, but so far that has not been the case. Kevin Durant returned to the floor for game two and played 41 minutes. He shot an efficient 58% but only took 12 shots in the game. Durant is listed as questionable for game three with an ankle injury, but I expect he plays this vital game. With no true point guard, this offense runs through Durant. The Rockets will need Durant to be more aggressive offensively in game three. Personally, I think the Rockets can win game three, but they have too many question marks to back them as double digit favorites. Durant’s injury status and Sengun’s struggles are now just stacked on top of the team’s lack of a starting point guard and depth. The Lakers have all the momentum heading to Houston, and they have seen a lot of key players gain valuable playoff confidence. The Lakers understand they have the Rockets reeling right now, and I expect them to come out aggressive as they try to take a 3-0 series lead.

Lakers +10 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at +9.