The Los Angeles Lakers opened their first-round series by looking far steadier than a wounded team had any right to. Missing both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the Lakers still beat the Houston Rockets 107-98 on Saturday night, taking a 1-0 lead behind a surprise scoring jolt from Luke Kennard and the familiar control of LeBron James.
Kennard scored 27 points, a playoff career high, while James added 19 points and 13 assists as Los Angeles capitalized on Houston’s own injury problems and a sharp efficiency edge.
The Lakers did not only win, but looked composed doing it, shooting 60.6% from the field and 52.6% from three-point range. Kennard, in particular, changed the texture of the night by going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. Deandre Ayton added 19 points and 11 rebounds, giving the Lakers another stabilizing force around the paint.
Houston had reasons to feel compromised as well. Kevin Durant was ruled out before the opener with a right knee issue, and without him the Rockets struggled to find enough shot-making to punish the Lakers for their own missing firepower. Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, while Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard added 17 apiece, but Houston shot only 37.6% from the field and never found the offensive rhythm needed to truly tilt the game. Even a 44-35 rebounding advantage was not enough to erase the gap in execution.
In the end, the game felt like a lesson in playoff priorities. The Rockets had energy and extra possessions. The Lakers had precision. And in Game 1, precision won comfortably enough.
