Rockets Lakers Basketball

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, second from left, passes the ball as Houston Rockets guard Josh Okogie, left, and forward Jabari Smith Jr. defend during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles.

Tags

As featured on

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

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. Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Lakers, who pulled off an impressive win without their top two scorers. Alperen Sengun scored 19 points and Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who finished one game behind Los Angeles in the regular season. Amen Thompson added 17 points.