Lakers 107-98 Rockets (Apr 18, 2026) Game Recap

LOS ANGELES — — Luke Kennard scored a profession playoff-high 27 factors, LeBron James had 19 factors and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant‘s harm absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets within the opener of their first-round playoff collection on Saturday night time.

Deandre Ayton had 19 factors and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Lakerswho pulled off a formidable win with out their prime two scorers.

Both groups performed the opener with out their most vital participant. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been out indefinitely with accidents since April 2, whereas Durant was a late scratch with a bruised right knee.

Los Angeles thrived by hitting 60.6% of their pictures whereas holding the Rockets to 37.6% capturing with pesky protection. That disparity allowed the Lakers to win regardless of making an attempt simply 66 pictures — the fewest in an NBA recreation up to now three seasons — and giving up 21 offensive rebounds.

“That’s what it has to be — a collective group,” the 41-year-old James stated after starting his nineteenth NBA postseason. “When you’re missing so much firepower like we are right now with AR and Luka being out, we all have to do our job and maybe have to do a little bit more, protect one another offensively and defensively, and I think we did that tonight.”

Alperen Sengun scored 19 factors and Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 factors and 12 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets. Amen Thompson added 17 factors.

Game 2 is Tuesday night time in Los Angeles.

The Lakers acquired Kennard from Atlanta in early February, and the NBA’s most correct 3-point shooter turned a key reserve earlier than he was seized a serious position over the previous two weeks. He hit 4 3-pointers in Game 1 whereas making 9 of his first 12 pictures.

Durant banged knees with a teammate in apply Wednesday. Reed Sheppard 5 3-pointers whereas scoring 17 factors, however the Rockets struggled to attain persistently.

“We won a lot of areas, but just shot poorly,” Houston coach Ime Udoka stated. “That’s going to be tough to beat, but there are some things we left on the table, opportunities missed.”

Los Angeles also got a boost from Marcus Smartwho had 15 points and eight assists with four 3-pointers. Smart said before the series that success would come down to “willpower” — and the Lakers clearly had extra for starters.

Bronny James started the second quarter playing alongside his famous father in the first significant playoff minutes of the 21-year-old’s career.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA