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The LA Lakers have officially locked in the No. 3 seed in the packed Western Conference. They took care of business Friday night, rolling past a shorthanded Houston Rockets squad 140-109 to notch their 50th win of the season.<\/p>\n
It only took three quarters for the Lakers to put the game out of reach, thanks to a dominant second quarter where they outscored Houston by 16. Their bench closed the show, finishing the fourth with a 33-22 edge to seal the key win.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n Luka Doncic<\/a> led the charge with 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, converting 13 of his 19 shots. Austin Reaves followed with 23 points, seven dimes and six boards.<\/p>\n LeBron James<\/a> played just 22 minutes, putting up 14 points and eight assists.<\/p>\n Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench firing, sinking six 3s on his way to 18 points, while Rui Hachimura chipped in 16.<\/p>\n For Houston, Cam Whitmore was the bright spot, pouring in 34 points and grabbing eight rebounds on an efficient 13-for-19 shooting night. Rookie Reed Sheppard, in just his third career start, added 14 points on 14 shots. Nate Williams and Aaron Holiday contributed 12 and 11, respectively.<\/p>\n With just one regular season game to go, the Lakers are locked into the postseason \u2014 but their first-round opponent is still unknown, as seeds 4 through 8 in the West are still in flux. Here’s how the playoff picture is shaping up:<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s victory improved the Lakers to 50-31, officially placing them third in the Western Conference. They now sit two games ahead of both the No. 4 Denver Nuggets<\/a> and No. 5 LA Clippers, who share identical 49-32 records.<\/p>\n But all eyes in LA. are on the No. 6 seed \u2014 their eventual first-round matchup. Sunday\u2019s finale will decide that, though the most probable scenario sees the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Utah Jazz in their regular season closer.<\/p>\n If that plays out, the Lakers have three possible opponents: the Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors or Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll draw Minnesota if both the Clippers and Nuggets win their finales. The Warriors will be their opponent if Golden State and Denver win, or if the Warriors win and Denver loses. If the Clippers win and Denver loses, then it\u2019s the Nuggets in round one.<\/p>\n With their spot secured and no need for the play-in, the Lakers can afford to rest their stars in Sunday\u2019s regular season finale \u2014 a road matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n![\"march](\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/march-madness-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLA Lakers playoff picture: Updated standings<\/strong><\/h2>\n
LA Lakers playoff picture: Remaining schedule<\/strong><\/h2>\n