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The Lakers limped painfully into the playoffs Saturday night only to delightfully discover a miracle salve.
An opponent as mangled as they were.
Yes, the Lakers are beginning this tournament seriously hampered by the indefinite absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
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But — surprise, surprise — the Houston Rockets showed up with a bad leg of their own, a recently suffered knee contusion that sidelined leading scorer Kevin Durant for at least the first game of this first-round series.
The result? Check out the wide-mouthed scream unleashed by the Lakers’ Luke Kennard midway through the fourth quarter.
The Lakers: Loud and surprising and inspiring.
Read more: Shorthanded Lakers knock off Durant-less Rockets in playoff opener
The Rockets: None of the above.
No Durant meant no Laker problem, a potentially tough battle never appearing in doubt, the Lakers earning a 107-98 victory at Crypto.com Arena that represented the triumph of connection over confusion.
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The Lakers were connected, apparently having had time to adjust to the loss of their two leading scorers, LeBron James acting as a brilliant playmaker for scorching hot shooters like Kennard, who hit all five of his treys in scoring a career playoff-high 27 points.
The Rockets were confused, Durant being a late scratch and their attack being lost without him, Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson combining for 38 shots and a bunch of misses.
At one end, the Lakers were perfectly executing, the 41-year-old James becoming the oldest player to have 13 assists in a playoff game, Deandre Ayton missing only two of 10 shots inside, so much nifty passing, so many open looks.
On the other end, the Rockets were a complete mess, dissolving in two whining technical fouls in the third quarter that sealed their fate.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, sprawled on the court, reaches for a loose ball in the paint during the first quarter. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers might be missing Doncic and Reaves but, man, the Rockets really, really, really missed Durant.
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The Lakers were good enough to win despite being outrebounded 21-3 on the…
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Publish date : 2026-04-19 10:00:00
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