The Los Angeles Lakers have made a final decision on Luka Doncicâs injury status before Game 2 against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers enter Tuesday night’s Game 2 against the Rockets shorthanded at the top â but nowhere else. The NBA’s official injury report, released Monday evening, lists only two Lakers as unavailable: Doncic and Austin Reaves, both of whom have been sidelined since April 2. Every other player on the roster is cleared to go.
Doncic carries a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Reaves is out with a left oblique muscle strain. A further update on both players’ potential return is expected in the coming days, according to CBS Sports. Neither player has a firm timeline. What the Lakers decided, and how it shapes their Game 2 rotation, could determine whether Los Angeles seizes early control of the series.
Game 2 tips off Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena, with the Lakers holding a 1-0 series lead.
GettyAustin Reaves is also ruled out for Game 2 against the Houston Rockets with a left oblique muscle strain.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves Remain Out as Lakers Seek 2-0 Lead
The Lakers went without both stars in Game 1 on Saturday, and won anyway. Luke Kennard scored a playoff career-high 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting, and LeBron James finished with 19 points and 13 assists in a 107-98 victory. Deandre Ayton added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“He is the number one shooter in the NBA so, you know, there’s not much to say,” Ayton said of Kennard, as quoted by a NBA.com. “He’s doing it in the playoffs where it really counts.”
Los Angeles shot 60.6 percent from the field in Game 1 while holding Houston to 37.6 percent. James recorded eight assists in the first quarter alone. That was the future Hall of Famer’s career high for any single quarter of a playoff game, according to ESPN Research. The 41-year-old NBA legend facilitated an offense that had all five starters scoring in double figures.
Rockets’ Kevin Durant Questionable for Game 2
The Rockets are dealing with their own injury concern heading into Tuesday. The official injury report lists Kevin Durant as questionable with a right knee contusion. Durant was a late scratch for Game 1, and Houston’s offense struggled badly without him, shooting just 37.6 percent as a team. Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, and Amen Thompson all shot below 40 percent.
Durant’s knee was described as “tender and tough to bend in certain ways” after a Wednesday practice injury, according to ESPN. Whether he suits up Tuesday is the central question for Houston heading into the game.
Also ruled out for the Rockets on the official report: center Steven Adams, sidelined following left ankle surgery, and guard Fred VanVleet, who is out for the season after ACL repair on his right knee.
For the Lakers, the roster is otherwise fully available. With Doncic and Reaves each out indefinitely and no new names added to the report, the same group that pulled off a Game 1 upset will take the floor again Tuesday looking to push Houston to the brink of elimination.
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