The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers are both hot, and now they’ll square off on Friday night.

The Rockets (52-28) are second place in the Western Conference and have won seven of their last 10 games, while the Lakers (49-31) are third and have won six of their last 10.

The Lakers are coming off a 112-97 road win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, which marked Luka Doncic’s first return to the American Airlines Arena since Dallas traded him to Los Angeles in February.

The superstar’s 45 points (16-28 FG, 7-10 3 PT) tied his season high. Meanwhile, the Rockets lost 134-117 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday but beat the Golden State Warriors 106-96 away from home on Sunday. Houston announced its injury report on Thursday, via Lakers Nation’s Ryan Ward.

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images “Alperen Sengun is QUESTIONABLE, along with Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith,” he reported.

“Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson have been cleared to play.” The Rockets held all of those players out against the Clippers.

Looks like we’ll have a competitive game tomorrow in LA.

Alperen Sengun is QUESTIONABLE, along with Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith. Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson have been cleared to play. — Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 11, 2025 Houston has clinched the second seed and are 14 games behind the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder, so there’s nothing at stake in their final two regular-season contests.

At this point, they must simply stay healthy before the playoffs.

Jalen Green leads the Rockets in scoring with 21.4 points per game, while Sengun leads in rebounds (10.4) and VanVleet leads in assists (5.6).

Additionally, Tari Eason leads in steals (1.7) and Amen Thompson leads in blocks (1.3). The Lakers will cap their regular-season slate with an away tilt vs. the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.