The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Rockets 107-98 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series. Despite being without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injuries, the Lakers took advantage of their opponent's absence. Luke Kennard led the scoring with 27 points, while LeBron James contributed 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Despite turning the ball over 20 times, the team managed to maintain 60.6% shooting from the field and 52.6%. The Lakers are now up 1-0 in a playoff series for the first time since playing the Warriors in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals (second round).