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"It's come down to it's in our hands and that's kind of what we've been playing for and we've wanted, so here it is," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said after practice Tuesday. "Let's go out and get it and take care of our own destiny."

The Lakers (44-37) host the Houston Rockets (45-36) Wednesday at Staples Center.

The Lakers are guaranteed the No. 7 seed with a win over Houston, as they would tie the Rockets in wins, split the season record at 2-2 but win the tiebreaker by having the better overall record against the Western Conference. The Lakers will be the No. 8 seed if both they and the Utah Jazz (43-38) lose.

If Utah beats the Memphis Grizzlies on the road, and the Lakers lose at home to Houston, L.A. will fail to qualify for the postseason.

"My thoughts are, seventh and eighth I feel good," D'Antoni said. "Out, I feel bad."

The Lakers will have a clearer sense of what's at stake before they tip off against the Rockets as Utah's game against Memphis already will be finished.

"Our whole goal is to win and we have that mindset and do it, so whether [the Jazz] throw out a safety net for you or not [by losing], I don't know if that affects anybody," D'Antoni said.

L.A. comes into the game winners of seven of its past eight and has gone 27-12 since bottoming out with an 18-25 record after a loss to Memphis on Jan. 23. Houston comes in having lost three of its past five games, including a 119-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday.

"It's another big game; that's what we've been playing it seems like for the last month," said Pau Gasol. "Big game after big game. But we have two days of rest, so we should be mentally and physically ready for the last one."

Houston leads the season series with L.A. 2-1, losing in Los Angeles 119-108 on Nov. 18, when Bernie Bickerstaff was acting interim head coach for the Lakers. The Rockets beat the Lakers in Houston, 107-105 on Dec. 4, and again on Jan. 8, 125-112, in a game that L.A. played without its frontcourt stars of Dwight Howard or Gasol.