The Lakers came into Game 4 on Sunday with an opportunity to become the first team to advance to round two. The Rockets, who continued to play without Kevin Durant, had other ideas.
Houston survived at least one more game with a stomping of Los Angeles Sunday night as the Rockets’ defense took away LeBron James’s scoring power … for at least one game. Elsewhere in the Western Conference, Victor Wembanyama returned to the floor after he missed Game 3 with a concussion suffered on a scary fall in Game 2. The Spurs came back and ended up taking care of the Trail Blazers by 21 points as Portland now faces elimination.
