Houston Rockets vs LA Lakers Prediction 5/1/26 NBA Picks Today

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets do battle in a crucial Game 6 of the 1st Round at the Toyota Center on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers might be starting to sweat now as their series lead was cut in half after falling short to the Rockets in a 99-93 home defeat in Game 5 on Wednesday. LeBron James led the team with 25 points and seven assists on nine of 20 shooting, Austin Reaves scored 22 points with six assists off the bench while DeAndre Ayton tallied 18 points with 17 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Lakers shot 42 percent from the field and seven of 27 from the 3-point line as they played great defense at the start of the game to jump out to an early 11-point lead but it didn’t last long at all as the Lakers were already trailing by halftime. We kept waiting for the Lakers to catch fire and regain the lead but they were kept off balance and just had too much ground to make up after falling behind by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter. Marcus Smart had a quiet game of 11 points with six turnovers while Luke Kennard finished with just one point on zero of four shooting in 31 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets now have their sights set on squaring up the series after taking care of business in a hard fought victory in Game 5 on Wednesday. Jabari Smith Jr led the team in scoring with 22 points and seven rebounds, Tari Eason added 18 points, Amen Thompson scored 15 points with seven rebounds and four assists while Alperen Sengun chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. As a team, the Rockets shot 44 percent from the field and 14 of 40 from the 3-point line but this win was more about their defense as they got off to a slow start and had to work their way back from an early 11-point deficit, before they restricted the Lakers to just 39 points in the second and third quarters combined to secure the much needed win to stave off elimination. The Rockets got just 19 points from their bench players but they had all five starters scoring at least 12 points in a balanced scoring effort.

The Lakers are still missing Luka Doncic, while the Rockets have listed Kevin Durant as doubtful with an ankle injury. The Lakers will be annoyed that they weren’t able to finish the job in Game 5 at home, but at least they were able to get Austin Reaves back in the lineup which is a major boost. Meanwhile, the Rockets were able to keep their season alive on Wednesday and now they are back in front of their home fans in another must-win game. The Lakers can certainly seal the deal here if they don’t commit 15 turnovers like they did in Game 5, but I think this series is headed for a dramatic series decider as I have the Rockets getting the win at home in a close one.

Peter Tran's Free Pick: Houston -4.5

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