Redick hails LeBron’s greatness as injury-hit Lakers oust Rockets in 6
HOUSTON (AP) — When leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were both injured in an April 2 game, coach JJ Redick admitted things felt bleak for the Los Angeles Lakers. But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Lakers banded together to fight through the adversity and beat the Houston Rockets in six games to move on to face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles has advanced to the second round for the first time since 2023 when it lost to Denver in the West final.
Pistons rally from 24 down to beat Magic 93-79 and force Game 7 after Orlando goes ice-cold
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons pulled off an incredible rally by erasing a 24-point deficit and beating the Orlando Magic 93-79 to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Detroit trailed by 22 at the half Friday night and Orlando’s lead went to 62-38 early in the third quarter. The Magic looked poised to become the seventh No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the first round. And then everything went wrong for Orlando. The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field during one stretch and Detroit went on a 35-5 run to take control.