So much of the dialogue leading into Saturday was about how the Lakers would withstand being without Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique strain) during their playoff series against the Rockets.
But within 24 hours, the dynamic shifted, with Rockets star Kevin Durant popping up on the injury report because of a right knee contusion he suffered during practice earlier in the week.
And the Lakers were the ones who took advantage of their opponent missing their leading scorer, beating the Rockets 107-98 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
“We were really poised as a team,” coach JJ Redick said. “We had a great next-play mentality. Wasn’t a perfect game. None of these games are gonna be perfect. Got contributions from a lot of people in a lot of different ways, and made enough winning plays, despite the turnovers and the offensive rebounds.”
Offense didn’t come easily for the Lakers, either.
They turned the ball over 20 times, helping the Rockets stay in the game with 24 points off those giveaways.
But the Lakers’ intentionality with their offense led to 60.6% shooting from the field (40 of 66) and 52.6% shooting from beyond the 3-point arc (10 of 19).
“We did a good job,” Redick said. “The guys that were handling versus pressure, overall, did a nice job of getting us organized, and we ran a lot of the stuff we wanted to run, and we got a lot of good stuff. When we did shoot the ball, we were efficient. We missed some free throws. But again, it’s just this is going to be, can we take care of the ball. Over the course of seven games, can we take care of the ball and can we limit their offensive rebounds?”
Luke Kennard led the way with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, making all five of his 3s. LeBron James finished with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.
All five Lakers starters scored at least 10 points.
“It has to be that way,” James said. “It has to be a collective group. When you’re missing so much firepower, like we are right now with AR and Luka being out, we all have to pitch in. We all have to do our job. And even do a little bit more. Protect one another offensively and defensively and I think we did that.”
Deandre Ayton had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Marcus Smart had 15 points and eight assists and Rui Hahcimura scored 14 points
The Lakers won despite the Rockets grabbing 21 offensive rebounds for 23 second-chance points, outscoring them in the paint (44-40) and scoring 17 more points off turnovers.
Alperen Sengun had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Amen Thompson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
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What it means
The Lakers are up 1-0 in a playoff series for the first time since playing the Warriors in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals (second round).
They haven’t been up 2-0 in a series since winning the 2020 NBA Finals against the Heat.
Turning point
When Jake LaRavia drew an off-ball foul on Tari Eason at the five-minute mark of the third quarter.
The foul was the Rockets’ fifth for the quarter, putting the Lakers in the bonus for the remainder of the third.
The Lakers shot 10 of 12 from the line from that point.
This included Kennard splitting a pair of free throws after technical fouls on Rockets wing Jae’Sean Tate and coach Ime Udoka.
The Lakers shot 11 of 15 on free throws in the third, helping them win the quarter 25-18.
MVP: Luke Kennard
James set the tone early with his playmaking, dishing out eight first-quarter assists and 10 assists in the first half, which tied a playoff career high for his most assists in a half.
But it was Kennard who provided the steady dose of scoring in a game that didn’t feature a lot of it for either team.
Kennard’s scoring total set a playoff career high, surpassing the previous career high of 21 points he scored on April 14, 2019, while with the Pistons.
“I just liked that he was aggressive shooting 3s,” Redick said. “He played a fantastic basketball gam. He just played really aggressive and did a nice job. I don’t know what our overall numbers were, but we came in at halftime and we had one of our highest paint touch rates in the entire season. And his ability to just kind of get to the next thing and turn the corner on off ball stuff and touch the paint for us, and it just, there’s a snowball effect to that. He played a really good game.”
Stat of the game: 37.6%
That was the Rockets’ shooting percentage, highlighting how stifling the Lakers’ defense was.
It was the lowest shooting percentage the Lakers allowed in a playoff game since April 28, 2023, against the Grizzlies, according to Stathead.
“I know they took free throws, but we did a good job of contesting those six- to eight- foot shots without fouling, using our length,” Redick said. “Getting a contest is super important.”
Up next
Game 2 of the Lakers-Rockets playoff series will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Durant’s status for Game 2 wasn’t known as of Saturday evening.
