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04/17 01:03 CDT Los Angeles hosts Houston to start playoffs Los Angeles hosts Houston to start playoffs By The Associated Press Houston Rockets (52-30, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) Los Angeles; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Rockets -5.5; over/under is 207.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Lakers host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets to open the Western Conference first round. Los Angeles went 2-1 against Houston during the regular season. The Lakers won the last regular season matchup 124-116 on Thursday, March 19 led by 40 points from Luka Doncic, while Alperen Sengun scored 27 points for the Rockets. The Lakers are 33-19 in Western Conference games. Los Angeles has an 8-3 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Rockets are 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Houston has a 5-9 record in games decided by less than 4 points. The Lakers make 50.2% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.2 percentage points higher than the Rockets have allowed to their opponents (46.0%). The Rockets average 11.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 12.8 per game the Lakers allow. TOP PERFORMERS: Jake LaRavia is scoring 8.2 points per game and averaging 4.0 rebounds for the Lakers. LeBron James is averaging 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last 10 games. Kevin Durant is averaging 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Rockets. Reed Sheppard is averaging 3.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 7-3, averaging 116.2 points, 41.4 rebounds, 28.6 assists, 10.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.2 points per game. Rockets: 9-1, averaging 123.6 points, 49.1 rebounds, 28.7 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.4 points. INJURIES: Lakers: Austin Reaves: out (rib), Jaxson Hayes: day to day (foot), Luka Doncic: out (hamstring). Rockets: Kevin Durant: day to day (rest), Amen Thompson: day to day (rest), Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle), Jabari Smith Jr.: day to day (rest), Alperen Sengun: day to day (rest). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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