The Los Angeles Lakers look to take complete control of their 2026 NBA playoff first-round series against the Houston Rockets in Game 3 on Friday. Los Angeles defended its home court in the first two games despite being an underdog in both, building a 2-0 series lead. Kevin Durant (knee) missed Game 1, but returned for Game 2, though his 23 points was not enough to help Houston earn the split. Luka Doncic (hamstring) remains out for the Lakers, while Austin Reaves (oblique) is now questionable after missing the first two games of the series. Durant, who is dealing with a new ankle injury, has been ruled out for Game 3.<\/p>\n
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET at the Toyota Center in Houston. The latest Rockets vs. Lakers odds have Houston as a 6.5-point favorite, while the over\/under for total points scored is 206.5. Before making any Lakers vs. Rockets picks,\u00a0check out the Rockets vs. Lakers predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model<\/a>.<\/p>\n The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in\u00a0betting<\/a>\u00a0profit for $100 players on its top-rated\u00a0NBA picks<\/a>\u00a0over the past eight-plus seasons. The model entered the first full week of the 2026 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 24-9 roll (73%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season. Anyone following its\u00a0NBA betting<\/a>\u00a0advice at\u00a0sportsbooks<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0betting apps<\/a>\u00a0could have seen huge returns.<\/p>\n Now, the model has simulated Rockets vs. Lakers<\/a> 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks<\/a>. Here are several NBA odds<\/a> and NBA betting lines for Rockets vs. Lakers:\u00a0<\/p>\n Rockets vs. Lakers spread:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Rockets -6.5 at FanDuel<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Rockets vs. Lakers over\/under:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 206.5 points<\/p>\n Rockets vs. Lakers money line:<\/p>\n Rockets -22, Lakers +183<\/p>\n Rockets vs. Lakers picks:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n See picks at SportsLine<\/a><\/p>\n Rockets vs. Lakers streaming:<\/p>\n Prime<\/p>\n Top Rockets vs. Lakers predictions<\/p>\n After 10,000 simulations of Rockets vs. Lakers, SportsLine’s model is\u00a0going Over on the total (206.5).\u00a0Six of the Rockets’ last nine games have gone Over the total. The total has gone Over in seven of Houston’s last nine games against an opponent in the Western Conference and eight of the last 11 games the Rockets have played in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n LeBron James<\/a> is projected to lead the Lakers with 26.6 points scored, as five Lakers players will score 11 or more points. The teams are projected to combine for 219 total points as the Over hits 69% of the time, making it a great selection for anybody targeting NBA parlay betting<\/a>. See the Rockets vs. Lakers spread pick at SportsLine<\/a>, and you can bet the Over in Rockets vs. Lakers at FanDuel here:<\/p>\n How to make Lakers vs. Rockets picks<\/p>\n After simulating each possession of Rockets vs. Lakers 10,000 times, the model also says one side of the spread is the better value.\u00a0You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NBA picks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n