{"id":323800,"date":"2026-04-24T12:22:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T06:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=323800"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T06:52:59","slug":"austin-reaves-could-return-for-lakers-game-3-vs-rockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/austin-reaves-could-return-for-lakers-game-3-vs-rockets\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Reaves could return for Lakers&#8217; Game 3 vs Rockets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"FOR_target_content\">\n<div id=\"attachment_673308\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-673308\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Luka Doncic, left, and Austin Reaves chat as they sit on the bench through the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Los Angeles Lakers, up 2-0 on the Houston Rockets of their first-round NBA playoff series, could have Austin Reaves back from injury in Game 3.<\/p>\n<p>Reaves has been sidelined by an oblique muscle injury since April 4, a devastating late-season blow to a Lakers team that also saw league-leading scorer Luka Doncic sidelined with a hamstring strain.<\/p>\n<div id=\"billboard_article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i id=\"art_cont\" style=\"color:#85A7BF;\">Article continues after this commercial<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>READ: NBA: Lakers\u2019 Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves still out indefinitely<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, with 41-year-old LeBron James leading the charge, the Lakers won the primary two games at home of their best-of-seven Western Conference series and can attempt to press their advantage because the series shifts to Houston on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Reaves, who averaged a career-high 23.3 points per game within the regular season, was upgraded to \u201cquestionable\u201d on the Lakers\u2019 Thursday evening injury report, and Rockets star Kevin Durant was downgraded to \u201cquestionable\u201d with a sprained left ankle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ: NBA Playoffs: LeBron, Lakers slip past Rockets for 2-0 lead<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ztoop\">\n<i id=\"art_cont\" style=\"color:#85A7BF;\">Article continues after this commercial<\/i>\t\t  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>Durant, who arrived in Houston from Phoenix last July as a part of a blockbuster seven-team deal, was a late scratch from game one with a bruised knee.<\/p>\n<p>He returned for game two but struggled within the second half, scoring just three of his team-high 23 points after the break and ending with nine turnovers because the Lakers double-teamed him relentlessly.<\/p>\n<p>The series was billed as a renewal of the James-Durant rivalry, which stretches back to 2008 and includes three clashes within the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Luka Doncic, left, and Austin Reaves chat as they sit on the bench through the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill) The Los Angeles Lakers, up 2-0 on the Houston Rockets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[8366,585,1416,20334,1161,1658],"class_list":["post-323800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-austin","tag-game","tag-lakers","tag-reaves","tag-return","tag-rockets"],"aioseo_notices":[{"message":"The permalink for this post just changed! 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