LeBron James scored 18 of his 28 points in a runaway first half for the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, who cruised to a 98-78 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday to win Western Conference first-round playoff series in six games.
The Lakers, by virtue of the 4-2 series victory, advance to the Western Conference semifinals and will travel to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 1 on Tuesday.
James added seven rebounds and eight assists to his ledger. Teammate Rui Hachimura put up 21 points, hitting 5 of 7 from the 3-point arc. Austin Reaves, who started for the first time in the series, added 15 points for the Lakers.
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