NBA Basketball
2026-04-24 - Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball Playoffs First Round Game 3
Friday 24th April 2026 - Scheduled 8pm EST
1am (British Time)
Preview
The Houston Rockets may have been worried about the Los Angeles Lakers and a First Round Series against this opponent if they had been at full health, but the continued absences of both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves looked to have swung the odds in favour of the Number 5 Seed.
The layers certainly thought so with the Houston Rockets big road favourites in both games hosted by the higher Seed to open this Series.
A late scratch of Kevin Durant in Game 1 was a bitter blow and it is unsurprising that the Rockets struggled without him, but even the return of the veteran Champion failed to get the desired result from his team.
That means despite being a big road favourite in both games in this Series, the Houston Rockets return home 0-2 behind and in a desperate position to find a response.
There are a couple of days of rest between Game 2 and Game 3 as the First Round Series switches venues, but the Houston Rockets need to find some adjustments. They will be hoping Kevin Durant is a little better with a couple more days of recovery from the knee injury that kept him out of Game 1, but Durant is likely to continue to be harassed as the Lakers dare someone else to beat them.
Tari Eason has contributed from the bench, but there has been an inefficiency about the Houston Offensive unit and that has restricted them against a Lakers team knowing they have to put in that extra effort on that side of the court without two important Offensive contributors.
All of the credit has to be given to the Los Angeles Lakers for doing that, but LeBron James will be reminding his team that they have not achieved anything yet and a 2-0 lead can quickly become 2-2 before returning home if they are not careful. Producing at home is one thing for the support players, but it has been long noted in the NBA how it is much more difficult for those role players to show up on the road and that is the challenge for the Lakers.
Where the Los Angeles Lakers have really done well is the efficiency with the shooting without Doncic and Reaves.
They have taken 66 shots in Game 1 and just 72 in Game 2, but the Lakers have made 61% and 46% from the field overall, while 10-19 and 13-28 marks from the three point range are hugely influential in guiding the Lakers to the victories.
It will be tougher on the road, but the Los Angeles Lakers have shown they can put together enough Defensive intensity to challenge the Houston Rockets and they can avoid a blowout. Game 4 is set on Sunday, which may be tougher for the Lakers with the limited rest, but they have two days to prepare for this one and that should see the best effort they can produce on the road.
The Lakers have won the last four in the series against the Houston Rockets and that is also something that cannot be ignored- they should expect the very best effort Houston have to try and avoid the mammoth task for overturning a 3-0 deficit, but the Lakers have shown they can keep this one competitive and the Rockets may not have the firepower to blow them out and cover a big line.
Hosts favoured by more than 4.5 points do have a 16-4 record against the spread in Game 3 of the First Round of the Playoffs, which is a concern when going against the trend, but if the Lakers continue to play as they have Defensively, they can keep this competitive on the scoreboard against an almost double digit line.
Prediction
Take the points with the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to ramp up the pressure on the Rockets with a 2-0 lead in the Series.
The Pick :
Houston Rockets 104-98 Los Angeles Lakers
