Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean
Getty
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 18: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Toyota Center on March 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
The Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-0 in their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets after a Game 3 win on Friday night, and they’ve done it without leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, both of whom are still out with muscle injuries.
While Reaves was upgraded to questionable for Game 3, before then ruled out shortly before tipoff, it appears he is close to making his return from injury. Doncic, however, remains without an official return timeline, as he continues to recover from his grade 2 hamstring strain suffered more than three weeks ago.
Still, with a win in Game 3 and the Lakers up 3-0 over the Rockets, the idea of getting the two stars back in the playoffs, whether it’s in this series or next, is starting to feel a lot more likely.
GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 31: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers makes a slam dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Through the 80-year history of the NBA, teams are a combined 159-0 when up 3-0 in a postseason series. That is the situation the Lakers find themselves in now, as after a miraculous Game 3 in over Houston, they are firmly in the driver’s seat in the first round.
That win, putting Los Angeles up 3-0 against Houston, bodes well for a Doncic injury return, as it appears the Lakers are on the brink of moving onto the second round, potentially giving them up to two more weeks to have the Slovenian star fully recover.
Based on the latest injury updates, Doncic is still out indefinitely, as the Lakers have yet to announce an official return timeline or date for him to get back on the court.
According to The Athletic, players with a hamstring injury like the one Doncic suffered typically take about three to six weeks to fully recover from. Doncic traveled to Spain to expedite his recovery and return timeline, so the Lakers have hope that he can get back on the court sometime soon.
Luka Doncic doing some controlled, light movement shooting after practice under the watchful eye of Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean
Still, though Shams Charania of ESPN reported Doncic is not expected to return in the series against the Rockets, he hasn’t been ruled out if the Lakers advance to the second round. That series would start on May 4 and could last up to two weeks, which would be anywhere from four to six weeks after he originally suffered the injury.
“Yeah, Luka, I think is still probably more on a next round (addition),” Tim McMahon said on The Hoop Collective podcast about when Doncic could return for the Lakers.
The previous hope was that Los Angeles could extend their series against Houston to try to get Doncic or Reaves back. But now, they are one win away from taking the series, and with that, could get a new, refreshed timeline on getting back their backcourt stars.
Doncic is still out indefinitely, but if the Lakers can keep their season alive and move to the second round, it only makes the idea of the Slovenian coming back even more likely.
GettyMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 29: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 29, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee.
As mentioned, Reaves was questionable heading into Game 3, and based on reports from Charania and other ESPN insiders, there was a near expectation that he would suit up on Friday if nothing went wrong pregame.
However, just before tipoff, Reaves was ruled out, as he is still sidelined with the oblique strain he suffered in early April. But, as Charania said on NBA Today, if Reaves wasn’t going to play in Game 4, expect Game 4 to be his targeted return.
Shams Charania says Austin Reaves will attempt to return to the court for either Game 3 or Game 4 of Lakers-Rockets 👀
“Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight, if not Game 3 then Game 4.”
“He’s getting closer to coming back from a grade 2 oblique injury,” he said. “My understanding is that Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight, if not Game 3 then Game 4.”
While there was initial disappointment that the shooting guard wasn’t able to play for Los Angeles on Friday, it didn’t end up mattering for the Lakers, as they eked out a surprise win in Game 3.
With the help of late-game heroics from LeBron James, Marcus Smart, and the rest of the rotation, the Lakers went from down six with 34 seconds left to winning in overtime. According to ESPN, they had just a 3% chance of taking victory, but somehow found a way to go up 3-0 in the series.
The Rockets had a win probability of 97% according to ESPN Analytics when they got the ball back up six with 34 seconds left in regulation.
With teams undefeated after going up 3-0 in the playoffs, the idea of Los Angeles getting back Doncic and Reaves at some point has gone from a slight hope to a very realistic scenario.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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