Story by
With Lakers’ loss, Rockets clinch No. 2 spot in 2025 West playoff field
- Story by
- With Lakers’ loss, Rockets clinch No. 2 spot in 2025 West playoff field
The Houston Rockets clinched the No. 2 spot in the 2025 Western Conference standings courtesy of Tuesday's victory by the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Los Angeles Lakers .
The Rockets are 52-27 with three games left to play in their 2024-25 regular season. The third-seeded Lakers are now 48-31, and even if Houston somehow went 0-3 in its remaining three games, the Rockets still would not have 31 losses. Thus, Tuesday was the clincher.
Advertisement
Houston was at No. 5 in the West standings in early March, but the Rockets have taken over down the home stretch of the season with 15 wins in 17 games.
The No. 2 seed will give Houston home-court advantage in both its first-round series and a potential second-round series, should the Rockets advance. The Rockets are 29-11 in home games at Toyota Center this season.
Teams with home-court advantage play the first, second, fifth, and seventh games of each best-of-seven series at home. The latter two are played if necessary.
The Rockets' first-round opponent in the No. 2 versus No. 7 series will depend on how other teams finish the 2024-25 regular season and the West play-in tournament results. Options include the Lakers, Denver Nuggets , Los Angeles Clippers , Golden State Warriors , Minnesota Timberwolves , and Memphis Grizzlies .
Advertisement
The upcoming 2025 NBA playoffs will be Houston's first postseason appearance in five years. Game 1 between the No. 2 Rockets and their No. 7 opponent will be either Saturday, April 19, or Sunday, April 20.
More: 'Special, relentless': Rockets, Steph Curry marvel at defense of Amen Thompson
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: As Lakers lose, Rockets clinch No. 2 spot in 2025 West playoff field
