LeBron James spent Friday night dismantling the Houston Rockets in Game 6, helping the Los Angeles Lakers advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2023.
Late in the fourth quarter, Bronny James logged three garbage-time minutes during the decisive 98-78 win, as the Lakers extinguished Houston’s playoff hopes at the Toyota Center.
Bronny James’ Minutes Cap Off Memorable First Round for Lakers
Los Angeles once again capitalized on the continued absence of Houston’s Kevin Durant, who missed his fifth game of the series (left ankle bone bruise).
James and the Lakers surged to a comfortable lead and held the Durant-less Rockets to just 78 points, prompting head coach JJ Redick to insert Bronny with 3:07 left in the game.
Bronny managed to record 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal in his brief 3-minute cameo.
The NBA world quickly took note of Bronny’s late-game insertion, with one user posting, “Adou and Bronny as human victory cigars >”
Adou and Bronny as human victory cigars >
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) May 2, 2026
“They just won a playoff series together wow,” another user posted, highlighting the father-son duo of LeBron and Bronny making more NBA history.
They just won a playoff series together wow pic.twitter.com/RHxeez58OA
— Hana 🧡 (@HanaHoops) May 2, 2026
Throughout the game, many Lakers fans online were calling for Redick to play Bronny, as the 21-year-old logged some quality minutes at times throughout the first-round series.
“put bronny in the game!” one user stated earlier.
“Bronny should be playing Smarts minutes here,” another user said.
Bronny should be playing Smarts minutes here.
— Myles 🇯🇲🇧🇧 (@myles_premium_) May 2, 2026
After the win, one X user half-jokingly pointed out, “Lakers are undefeated in playoff series when Bronny plays. I’m just saying.”
Meanwhile, RealApp decided to ruffle some feathers, writing, “Playoff series won before turning 25: 1 – Bronny James. 0 – Michael Jordan.”
Playoff series won before turning 25:
1 — Bronny James
0 — Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/GjYUUNntat— Real App (@realapp) May 2, 2026
This garbage-time appearance for Bronny was only possible because of his father’s performance in a crucial close-out game.
LeBron finished with 28 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds, easily picking apart Houston’s defense to cap off a first-round performance in which he averaged 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists.
While the Lakers will celebrate this first-round victory tonight, they will quickly turn their attention to their second-round matchup against the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Replicating their first-round heroics against a fully rested Thunder team borders on the impossible, as it will take everything the Lakers have to fulfill the Hollywood ending that Los Angeles fans are dreaming up.
