Marcus Smart Turns Back the Clock, Leads Lakers to Playoff Win Against Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers are dealing with injuries to two of their top three players heading into the NBA Playoffs, but a former Cowboy picked up the slack in a big way on Tuesday night.

LA took a 2-0 series lead against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets with a 101-94 win in the City of Angels. Smart, now 32 years old, dropped 25 points in the game, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range while also adding seven assists and five steals — vintage stuff.

“I’m very grateful to be doing this,” Smart said. “I thank God every day because I could’ve been out the league, right, because injuries and things like that. So to be able to be back on this stage again, making the plays that I’m making with these guys, with this team, this organization, I’m just grateful.”

He started early, taking more shots in the first quarter than anyone else on the floor — a floor that also included Durant and LeBron James. But Smart wasn’t just taking, he was making, finishing the opening frame with 14 points on 5-for-7 shootings (3-for-4 from 3).

He also set the tone with his defense, finishing the opening quarter with a pair of steals. Early in the game, he picked up Durant in the backcourt and was able to poke the ball away from him, dive on the floor and secure a possession for his team — a possession that quickly ended in James soaring through the LA sky and throwing down a dunk.

Marcus Smart is a mad man pic.twitter.com/9Vnb3SD3rc

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) April 22, 2026

Smart hit a big 3 late to give the Lakers an 8-point lead with about two minutes to play, an early dagger.

SMART SINKS HIS 5th THREE 🎯

LAKERS 99
ROCKETS 92

UNDER A MINUTE TO PLAY IN Q4 🍿 pic.twitter.com/cq1MQht074

— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2026

Tuesday’s game was the 110th NBA Playoff game Smart has played in his career but just the second as anything other than a Celtic. It marked the third-most points Smart has scored in a playoff game, but it was maybe his most impactful outing given the circumstances.

Although the Lakers are the better seed (a 4 to Houston’s 5), the Rockets were favorites in these opening two games with LA being without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. But now they head to Houston up 2-0 with those two being closer to being back.

“Everything is heightened, right?” Smart said. “We need guys. My whole life, I’ve been that guy you can just throw in certain spots you need. Like I said before, Swiss Army Knife — that’s me. Filling in the gaps, whatever we need whenever we need it. That’s just who I’ve been. I think that’s what makes me very valuable and very unique.”

A highly touted high school prospect, Smart played two seasons at Oklahoma State. He was a consensus All-American as a freshman and was named the Big 12’s Player of the Year that season after averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and three steals a game. He was again an All-American as a sophomore, averaging 18 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals a game.

Should LA close this thing out and the Oklahoma City Thunder take care of business against the Suns, Smart would be playing in Oklahoma City in the second round. It’d mark the first time in his career he played playoff basketball in the same state he played in during his college days.