Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (52-30, fifth in the Western Conference)Houston; Friday, 8 p.m. EDTLINE: Rockets -9.5; over/under is 205.5WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Lakers lead series 2-0BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference first round with a 2-0 lead in the series. The Lakers won the last matchup 101-94 on Wednesday, led by 28 points from LeBron James. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 23.The Rockets have gone 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Houston is 23-8 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 14.4 turnovers per game.The Lakers are 33-19 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles is 8-3 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.The Rockets are shooting 47.9% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 48.3% the Lakers allow to opponents. The Lakers are shooting 50.2% from the field, 4.2% higher than the 46.0% the Rockets’ opponents have shot this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Durant is scoring 26.0 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson is averaging 18.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 59.5% over the past 10 games.Popular ReadsJames is averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Lakers. …
