Rockets Get Blown Out Late By Lakers in Game One of First Round Without Durant

The Houston Rockets began their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a tough 107-98 loss on the road at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.

This was the 2nd time ever in the playoffs that both teams were without their best scorers. While it was well known that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will likely miss the entire series due to injury, Durant was shockingly added to the injury report on Friday with a right knee contusion and ended up being out for the game. That was obviously a huge loss and it played a big role in the first game of this first round matchup.

Durant was the team's leading scorer coming in and the Rockets were unable to get the balanced scoring needed to overcome that. The Rockets' leading scorer was Alperen Sengun with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard each added 17. Jabari Smith Jr. had a 16-point and 12-rebound double-double.

The Rockets shot just 38 percent overall from the field while the Lakers were 61 percent overall. Houston was also 33 percent from three compared to LA's 53 percent. The Rockets won the rebounding battle by nine and even forced 18 turnovers, but it wasn't enough thanks to poor offense and 13 turnovers of their own.

Luke Kennard was the leading scorer for the Lakers with 27 points while Lebron James was the leader all-around with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. All five starters for the Lakers were in double digits.

Game Recap

Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) reach for the ball in the first half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Lakers turned it over on the first possession, and Josh Okogie who was promoted into the starting lineup, drew a foul and went to the line.

Los Angeles went up 8-4 after a good shooting start. Smith Jr. responded for the Rockets with a three. Los Angeles took a 17-9 lead and had an almost perfect offensive start.

Okogie hit a three while Sengun made back-to-back shots in the paint. The Rockets trailed 33-29 at the end of the first. The Lakers shot 79 percent in the first quarter, while the Rockets had five turnovers in the period and shot 52 percent.

Both teams struggled scoring-wise in the second quarter. Sheppard knocked down a couple of threes, but the Lakers maintained an almost 10-point lead. Ayton had some great shots go down.

The Lakers had three consecutive turnovers forced by the Rockets that allowed them to cut the deficit much further. After trailing by eight with under two minutes to go, the Rockets brought it down to just two points at halftime. Sengun played a role in that stretch. Houston forced five turnovers in the final five minutes of the second quarter.

The Rockets didn’t play their best basketball to say the least, but were only down 50-48. Houston going 13/14 from the free throw line was a key aspect that kept them in the game. Sengun was the leading scorer at half for Houston with 11 points, while Smith Jr. added 10. The Rockets won the second quarter 19-17.

While the Lakers shot 65 percent from the field overall, the Rockets were just 37 percent. James had just six, but dished out 10 assists.

Sheppard drilled a 3-pointer at the start of the second half, and the Rockets took their first lead of the game since 4-2. The Lakers answered and retook that 10-point lead with some tough shot-making, but took advantage of the Rockets’ aggressive fouling and got to the line. Ja'Sean Tate was active off the bench.

It got chippy in the third as both Tate and coach Ime Udoka got called for a technical foul after a call didn’t go the Rockets’ way. Houston struggled from the line in the third. The Lakers won the period 25-18. Los Angeles was 11/15 from the charity stripe while the Rockets were just 2/6.

Sheppard started the fourth quarter with a three, but Smart continued to make smart shots. The Lakers took their largest lead of the game at 13 points thanks to a Kennard three. While Tari Eason hit a triple, James and Kennard drilled back-to-back from downtown that gave the Lakers a 88-72 lead with under eight minutes to go.

Kennard just took over the game in the fourth, but the Rockets didn't completely go away thanks to Eason. He stood out for the Rockets with his aggression and scoring. Eason added 16 points off the bench.

Game Two is on Sunday night in LA, and the Rockets will hope Durant will be back to avoid going down 0-2 in the series.

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