A career night from Luke Kennard and a double-double from LeBron James powered the Lakers to a Game 1 win over the Rockets, 107-98.
After finding out pregame that Kevin Durant would be out due to a right knee contusion, the Lakers took full advantage of the opportunity. LA grabbed a lead in the first quarter and maintained control throughout.
While Houston outscored LA 23-6 in second-chance points, they shot just 37.6% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the 3-point line. LA, meanwhile, shot 60.6%
from the field.
The Lakers started Game 1 off with a turnover that led to Josh Okogie getting fouled on the other end. He converted on both free throws, putting the Rockets in the lead early. That turnover would be the exception in the first quarter, though.
Deandre Ayton opened the scoring for LA with a midrange jumper. Los Angeles had as great a start as they’d hope, making eight out of its first 10 shot attempts.
Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with five points, Ayton and LeBron James were close behind with four points each. Okogie led Houston with five points. At the 6:11 mark, LA was up by three after the Rockets made a surge.
Reed Sheppard added a quick five points for Houston. Luke Kennard suddenly ignited for five points, pushing his point total to nine and making him the leading scorer on the team.
Kennard ended the quarter in double figures with 11 points. LeBron ended the quarter with eight assists, which was a new playoff-career high for him. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by four.
LeBron and Jarred Vanderbilt opened the second period with five points for LA. The Rockets turned the ball over twice. Amen Thompson scored the first field goal for Houston in the paint.
At the 6:22 mark, Los Angeles was up by eight.
Hachimura and Ayton were both shooting 100% from the field, combining for 19 points. The Rockets did pick up their defensive effort, forcing a few missed shots from the Lakers. After having one turnover in the first, Los Angeles now had eight turnovers.
LA turned the ball over and played frantic basketball down the stretch of the half. Houston started getting foul calls in their favor. Los Angeles shot 46% from the field in that quarter.
At halftime, Los Angeles was up by two.
Sheppard knocked down a triple to put the Rockets up by one to start the second half. Ayton scored on a tip-in of his own shot attempt to give the Lakers the lead again. Jabari Smith Jr. drained his third 3-pointer of the game. He was leading the Rockets with 13 points.
Hachimura knocked down a 3-pointer for LA, his second of the night.
The defensive intensity was high for both teams as they blocked shots and fought for rebounds. Kennard drained his second triple of the game. Both he and Ayton had 14 points.
An 8-0 scoring run gave Los Angeles a decent cushion. Much of the rest of the quarter saw a barrage of free throws being shot. The Lakers were shooting just 63% from the charity stripe, with Marcus Smart being a brutal 2-6 from the line.
LA managed to close the third well, going up by nine.
A 3-pointer from Sheppard opened the final frame. Hachimura responded with four points for Los Angeles. Kennard added two triples, and LeBron added one of his own as well, pushing the lead to 16 for the Lakers, forcing the Rockets to call a timeout.
Out of the break, Alperen Şengün scored five straight. Kennard then drained another 3-pointer. Tari Eason responded with one on the other end for Houston, leading to a timeout from head coach JJ Redick.
Smart knocked down a 3-pointer out of the break.
Eason was putting in good minutes for the Rockets, scoring another four points to try to keep Houston in it. With two minutes left, the Rockets kept inching closer, making it a nine-point game.
At the 1:40 mark, it was an 11-point lead for LA.
It was back to nine after Smith dunked the ball. Ayton was then fouled and converted on the three-point play, sealing the win.
Key Player Stats
LeBron finished with 19 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and two steals. Kennard’s huge night saw him finish with 27 points on 9-13 shooting. Ayton ended with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Hachimura notched 14 points. Smart logged 15 points, eight assists and two blocks. Jake LaRavia scored six points off the bench.
Game 2 will be on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets at 7:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
