Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points and Tari Eason added 18 as the Houston Rockets fought off elimination for a second consecutive game and crawled back into its first-round playoff series with a 99-93 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Alperen Sengun scored 14 points with nine rebounds and eight assists while Amen Thompson added 15 points for the Rockets, who now trail 3-2 in the best- of-seven Western Conference series after falling into a 3-0 hole. No NBA team has rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
The consecutive Rockets victories have come without star Kevin Durant (ankle), who has only played in Game 2.
Austin Reaves scored 22 points off the bench in his return from an oblique injury and LeBron James added 25 points for the Lakers. Deandre Ayton scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for his side, which will get a third chance to clinch the series on Friday at Houston. The Lakers continue to be without star Luka Doncic (hamstring).
Pistons 116, Magic 109
Cade Cunningham poured in a career-playoff-high 45 points as top-seeded Detroit Pistons stayed alive with a victory over visiting Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Tobias Harris supplied 23 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Ausar Thompson contributed six points, 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals.
The Magic’s Paolo Banchero countered Cunningham with a career-playoff-best 45 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists. Anthony Black had 19 points for eighth-seeded Magic. Franz Wagner sat out due to a calf strain.
45 POINTS FOR CADE.
45 POINTS FOR PAOLO.
2nd time EVER two opponents have dropped 45 in a postseason game… Pistons keep their season alive in an ALL-TIME battle between the 2021 and 2022 No. 1 picks 🤯 pic.twitter.com/BvRX27ZP8S
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2026
Cavaliers 125, Raptors 120
Dennis Schroder scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden finished with 23 points, rallying Cleveland Cavaliers to a 3-2 lead over visiting Toronto Raptors in an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The Cavaliers, who trailed by 12 points on multiple occasions, have won all three of their home games so far. Evan Mobley had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Donovan Mitchell scored 19 for the Cavaliers. Harden also had nine rebounds, five assists and six turnovers in a series-high 39:45 minutes.
RJ Barrett paced the Raptors with 25 points and Ja’Kobe Walter scored a career-playoff-high 20 points and made 6 of 14 3-point attempts. Raptors forward Brandon Ingram injured his right heel in the second quarter and did not return.
Published on Apr 30, 2026
