Rockets rout Lakers; Wembanyama wins Spurs return

LOS ANGELES: The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 on Sunday to stay alive in the NBA playoffs as San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama made a triumphant return to put the Spurs on the brink of advancing.
Amen Thompson scored 23 points to fuel the Rockets, who bounced back from a crushing overtime loss on Friday to cut the deficit in their best-of-seven Western Conference series to 3-1.
The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads in their series, San Antonio rallying from 19 points down to beat the Trail Blazers 114-93 in Portland and Boston thrashing the 76ers 128-96 in Philadelphia.
In Toronto, the Raptors edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to level their series at two games apiece.
Denied a sweep in Houston, the Lakers can still finish off the Rockets when they host game five on Wednesday.
The Rockets, still without star Kevin Durant, harried the Lakers into 24 turnovers yielding 30 Houston points.
Four-time NBA champion LeBron James made just two of nine attempts from the floor on the way to 10 points. He handed out nine assists but made eight turnovers.
With Los Angeles still missing their top scorers in injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, centre Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
But Los Angeles were already down by 19 when he was ejected in the third quarter after catching Rockets centre Alperen Sengun in the head with his forearm.
Tari Eason added 20 points and Sengun scored 19 for Houston, who are trying to become the first NBA team to rally from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series.
In Portland, Wembanyama returned after missing one game because of a concussion and scored 27 points with 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals and a whopping seven blocked shots.
'I had lots of emotions in me before the game, obviously,' said Wembanyama, named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and in the running for Most Valuable Player.
'Excitement, frustration, so I let it all out tonight,' he said.
The 22-year old Frenchman praised the doctors who oversaw his path through the NBA concussion protocol, but voiced dissatisfaction with the process that requires a gradual return to physical activity under medical supervision.
'The way the situation was handled was very disappointing,' Wembanyama said, declining to elaborate. — AFP