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Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 2 assists and added a steal and a block as the Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 in Game 4 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday night, pulling the series to 3-1.
Amen Thompson led Houston with 23 points, and Tari Eason added 20 as the Rockets' entire starting lineup reached at least 16 points. The win prevented Houston from being swept after dropping the first three games of the series.
Kevin Durant sat out for a third consecutive game — missing Game 1 with a bruised right knee and Games 2 through 4 with a sprained left ankle — but the Rockets produced without him.
"I'm proud of the guys," Thompson said. "Backs against the wall, us coming to perform, but we know we can do that all the time."
LeBron James finished with 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting, nine assists and eight turnovers before being pulled with 7½ minutes remaining. Los Angeles committed 23 turnovers in total and made just five 3-pointers after combining for 35 in the first three games.
DeAndre Ayton led the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but was ejected in the third quarter after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for striking Sengun in the head. The referee described the contact as "unnecessary and excessive."
"The turnovers obviously killed us from start to finish," James said.
Game 5 takes place Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics routed the Philadelphia 76ers 128-96 on the road, taking a 3-1 series lead. Payton Pritchard scored 32 points and Jayson Tatum contributed 30 points and 11 assists. Turkish national team player Adem Bona scored 4 points for Philadelphia.
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 114-93 on the road, also moving to a 3-1 series lead. Victor Wembanyama recorded 27 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks, while De'Aaron Fox added 28 points. Deni Avdija scored 26 points for Portland.
In the night's closest contest, the Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to even their Eastern Conference series at 2-2. Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram each scored 23 points for Toronto. Donovan Mitchell had 20 points and James Harden added 19 for Cleveland.
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