The Los Angeles Lakers had an efficient night on offense as they beat the Houston Rockets 107-98 in Game 1 of their first-round matchup.
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The Rockets were without Kevin Durant, who injured his knee during practice this week. His absence was glaring as the Rockets struggled to gain much momentum on offense.
With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves also sidelined, one would assume that LeBron James would be doing most of the scoring. But James and the Lakers came out with a different gameplan. He facilitated the offense and racked up eight assists in the opening frame as the Lakers led by four.
Turnovers became more of a problem in the second quarter as both offenses slowed down.
Houston struggled more with efficiency, but held the advantage in both three-point shooting and free throws.
The Rockets opened the second half on a run that was short-lived. The Lakers immediately regained control moments later and ended the third quarter up by nine.
In the fourth quarter, Los Angeles hit the ground running with a 13-3 run to extend the lead to 16. Luke Kennard was lethal from beyond the arc as the lead continued to grow.
The Rockets made a few timely buckets in the final minutes to make it a single-digit game, but never fully closed the gap.
Kennard led the Lakers in scoring with 27 points on 5-of-5 shooting from downtown. James nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists.
For Houston, Alperen Sengun had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
James Parker contributed to this story.
