Lakers secure No. 3 seed, 50 wins with victory over Rockets

LOS ANGELES — The reward, and challenge, for the Lakers on Friday night was laid out pretty clearly for them before their final regular-season home game against the Houston Rockets.
Win and the Lakers would not only secure their first 50-win season since winning the 2019-20 NBA championship, and their first in an 82-game season in more than a decade, but they’d also secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket.
The challenge: bringing the same level of intensity, e