Ayton logged six points (3-3 FG), three rebounds and one assist over 21 minutes during Monday's 115-110 loss to the Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
This was a disappointing end to Ayton's first season in Los Angeles. As for the regular season, Ayton logged 72 appearances as the starting center, posting averages of 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.6 steals on 67.1 percent shooting from the field. The big man will be heading into the final year of his contract in 2026-27.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Double-double in Game 1 loss
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Ayton ended Tuesday's 108-90 loss to Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals with 10 points (5-12 FG), 12 rebounds, two assists and one block over 27 minutes.
The double-double was his fourth of the postseason in seven games. Ayton has been making an impact on the glass for the Lakers, averaging 11.6 points, 11.0 boards, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks during the playoffs while shooting 56.9 percent from the floor.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Dominates glass in Game 6 win
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Ayton supplied seven points (2-6 FG, 3-7 FT), 16 rebounds, one assist and one block across 28 minutes during Friday's 98-78 victory over Houston in Game 6 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Only three Lakers players -- LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves -- scored in double digits during Friday's victory, but Ayton produced in his own way by grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds, one less than his playoff high in Game 5 on Wednesday. Ayton has logged at least 10 rebounds in each of his last three games and will finish the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs having averaged 11.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks over 31.0 minutes. Next up for the Lakers is a conference semifinal matchup against the top-seeded Thunder, and Ayton will have his hands full guarding Chet Holmgren.
Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Big double-double in Game 5 loss
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Ayton registered 18 points (9-14 FG), 17 rebounds and two blocks in 38 minutes during Wednesday's 99-93 loss to Houston in Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The 17 boards were a series and season high for Ayton, and represented his best performance on the glass since Feb. 3 of last season, when he ripped down 20 rebounds for Portland in a win over Phoenix. Ayton has three double-doubles in five first-round games, averaging 12.8 points, 9.8 boards, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks for the series while shooting 63.8 percent from the floor, and he'll look to come up big again in Game 6 on Friday.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Ejected Sunday
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Ayton has been ejected from Sunday's Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round series against the Rockets, Khobi Price of The California Post reports.
Ayton was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for a hit to the head while guarding Alperen Sengun. He concludes the contest with 19 points (9-12 FG, 1-1 FT) and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. Jaxson Hayes figures to see more time with Ayton out.
Ayton ended with two points (1-3 FG), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 33 minutes during Friday's 112-108 overtime win over the Rockets in Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Ayton failed to have a meaningful impact for a second straight game, recording just two points despite playing heavy minutes. Although the Lakers now lead the series 3-0, Ayton's questionable defensive efforts cannot be unseen. While advancing to the next round feels like a very real possibility for Los Angeles, a potential matchup with the Thunder is cause for concern given Oklahoma City's sizable interior.
Ayton contributed 19 points (8-10 FG, 3-3 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists and one block over 35 minutes during Saturday's 107-98 win over the Rockets in Game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Ayton's scoring total was engineered in part by LeBron James, who found his big man often and generated a few assists by connecting with him. Ayton has had his share of inconsistencies this season, but he went toe-to-toe with Alperen Sengun and finished with the better rebound result. It's all hands on deck for the Lakers, who need balanced output from everyone with Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) sidelined. Ayton needs to keep the volume up and assume additional responsibility as a scoring threat to keep ahead of the Rockets in the first-round series.
Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Records double-double Sunday
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Ayton provided 22 points (10-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 26 minutes during Sunday's 131-107 victory over Utah.
Ayton co-led the Lakers in scoring alongside Rui Hachimura, and the big man will need to provide this kind of output on offense in a difficult first-round series against the Rockets due to the likely absences of Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) for much of the series. Ayton averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game across 72 starts in the regular season.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Hits for 21 in Thursday's win
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Ayton provided 21 points (9-11 FG, 3-4 FT), five rebounds, one assist and one block over 31 minutes during Thursday's 119-103 victory over the Warriors.
It's the first time since March 12 that Ayton has delivered 20-plus points. All five Laker starters scored in double digits Thursday as the team tries to compensate for the absence of Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), and in three games since the two stars went down, Ayton is averaging 12.3 points, 4.0 boards, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 assists in 24.3 minutes.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Just misses double-double in win
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Ayton had 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 FT), nine rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in 28 minutes during Tuesday's 127-113 win over the Cavaliers.
It was Ayton's best scoring effort since March 12 as he moves past a back issue that sidelined him last Wednesday and limited him to 22 minutes in each of his prior two games. The 27-year-old center's production was inconsistent in March, even when healthy, as he averaged 11.1 points, 7.8 boards, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 assists in 25.5 minutes over 15 appearances, but he did shoot 73.3 percent from the floor.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Will return Friday
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Ayton (back) isn't listed on the injury report for Friday's game against Brooklyn.
Ayton wasn't able to suit up Wednesday due to back soreness, but he's able to avoid the injury report for Friday's matchup. The big man is averaging 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds over 12 March appearances.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Ruled out Wednesday
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Ayton (back) has been downgraded to out for Wednesday's game against the Pacers, Ryan Ward of SI.com reports.
Ayton was a late addition to the Lakers' injury report Wednesday morning due to back soreness. The issue will prevent the veteran big man from suiting up, which will likely allow Jaxson Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt to step into larger roles. Ayton's next chance to play will come Friday against Brooklyn.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Questionable for Wednesday
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Ayton (back) is questionable for Wednesday against Indiana.
Ayton was a very late addition to the injury report, though his injury is being described as soreness, which sounds minor. Given the opponent, the Lakers may be contemplating a maintenance day here. If Ayton is held out, Jaxson Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt would likely be more involved for the Lakers.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Double-doubles in loss
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Ayton posted 13 points (5-6 FG, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds and one steal in 27 minutes during Monday's 113-110 loss to the Pistons.
Ayton led the Lakers in rebounding and finished as the team's third-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic (32 points) and Austin Reaves (24 points). Tuesday marked Ayton's 21st double-double of the season and fourth in 17 games since the All-Star break. Over that 17-game span, he has averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 blocks over 25.8 minutes per game.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Strong play at both ends
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Ayton closed Wednesday's 124-116 win over the Rockets with 16 points (8-10 FG), four rebounds, two assists and three blocks over 34 minutes.
Ayton missed just two shots from the field in this win, and even though he had to deal with a tough matchup in Alperen Sengun, he got the job done on both ends of the court. This was the 13th time he scored in double digits while recording multiple blocks, and the second time he's done so this month. It was also a step in the right direction offensively for Ayton, who was coming off back-to-back single-digit scoring efforts in the wins over the Nuggets and Rockets on March 14 and March 16, respectively.
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Lakers' Deandre Ayton: Grabs 11 rebounds in victory
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Ayton amassed seven points (3-6 FG, 1-2 FT), 11 rebounds, one block and one steal over 27 minutes during Monday's 100-92 victory over the Rockets.
Although his scoring was successfully contained, Ayton had a clear advantage on the glass due to Alperen Sengun (back) being out of commission. The result snapped a short double-double streak that Ayton was building, which was aided by a five-game average of 10.0 rebounds per game.
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