Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 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 in the last game to cut the deficit in their best-of-seven Western Conference series to 3-1 on Sunday.The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads in their series, with San Antonio rallying from 19 points down to beat the Trail Blazers 114-93 in Portland and Boston thrashed 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.Wemby returns to winning waysIn 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 …
