If history is any indicator, the Los Angeles Lakers will defeat the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. That’s because LeBron James-led teams have a spotless 13-0 record in the first round of the postseason when they claim a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series.
The Lakers beat the Rockets, 107-98, to claim a 1-0 lead on Saturday despite playing without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique).
James, who finished with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, set the tone early for the Lakers by dishing out eight assists in the first quarter — the most in any playoff quarter he had recorded. The aggressive start was crucial, given that the Rockets were without their best player, Kevin Durant, and struggled to generate quality offense.
LeBron James Leads the Way
After the win, James admitted he had to play an all-around role for the Lakers in the absence of Doncic and Reaves — who averaged a combined 56.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 13.8 assists during the regular season and shouldered much of the offensive load.
“For me, I got to do a little bit of everything,” he said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“It’s what the job requires. So, being a triple threat, being able to rebound, being able to pass, being able to shoot and also defend and put myself in position where I can bring value to this ball club, bring value to this team throughout this series.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick had a lot of praise for the 41-year-old James.
“He displayed great leadership throughout,” Redick said of James. “We talked all week about being connected offensively and trusting the pass. He led us there in the first half, getting 10 assists, and then was able to make some scoring plays down the stretch.
“Just a fantastic overall game from him, and he gave us all he had on the defensive end. I mean, he really exerted himself on both ends, and that’s what the playoffs are.”
Luke Kennard Shines for Lakers
Kennard, who got to showcase his ball-handling and playmaking skills in the final five games of the regular season without Doncic and Reaves, was once again thrust into the starting guard role by Redick. The Duke alum responded in a big way, finishing with a career-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-5 from three.
“It’s everybody continuing to build confidence in me to be aggressive and look for my shot whenever I can,” Kennard said of the Lakers trusting him.
“So any daylight that I see — and they obviously got some big athletic defenders, guys that have been on me from the start of the game trying to be physical. So, when I see space and the rim, I’m going to look to get it up.”
All in all, it was a total team effort by the Lakers as Deandre Ayton (19 points, 11 rebounds), Marcus Smart (15 points, eight assists) and Rui Hachimura (14 points, three steals) all came up huge in key stretches. The most impressive aspect was that the Lakers shot 60.6% from the floor against one of the league’s best defensive units.
Lakers vs. Rockets Game 2 tips off at 7:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday night. It’s unknown if Kevin Durant (knee) will be cleared in time for the game by the Rockets.
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