04/18/26 11:45:00
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04/18 23:43 CDT Kennard scores 27, LeBron leads Lakers to surprising 107-98 win
over Rockets in playoff opener
Kennard scores 27, LeBron leads Lakers to surprising 107-98 win over Rockets in
playoff opener
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points,
LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles
Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant's injury absence for a 107-98 victory over
the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series on
Saturday night.
Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Lakers, who
pulled off an impressive win without their top two scorers.
Both teams played the opener without their most important player. Luka Doncic
and Austin Reaves have been out indefinitely with injuries since April 2, while
Durant was a late scratch with a bruised right knee.
Los Angeles thrived by hitting 60.6% of its shots while holding the Rockets to
37.6% shooting with pesky defense. That disparity allowed the Lakers to win
despite attempting just 66 shots --- the fewest in an NBA game in the past
three seasons --- and giving up 21 offensive rebounds.
"That's what it has to be --- a collective group," the 41-year-old James said
after beginning his 19th 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 points and Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 points and 12
rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets. Amen Thompson added 17 points.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
The Lakers acquired Kennard from Atlanta in early February, and the NBA's most
accurate 3-point shooter became a key reserve before he seized a major role
over the past two weeks. He hit four 3-pointers in Game 1 while making nine of
his first 12 shots.
Durant banged knees with a teammate in practice Wednesday. Reed Sheppard five
3-pointers while scoring 17 points, but the Rockets struggled to score
consistently.
"We won a lot of areas, but just shot poorly," Houston coach Ime Udoka said.
"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 Smart, who 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 more for starters.
Bronny James began 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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