The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 107-98 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. That wasn’t an outcome many predicted for Game 1, as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both sidelined with injury. A total team effort helped the Lakers emerge victorious, and head coach JJ Redick had a strong message for his players after the game.
“I’ll just be honest with you,” Redick said. “The way you guys prepared this week and all the s*** we talked about, about being together and elevating all of our stuff, we have another level that we can get to. There’s a lot left for us to get better at. We’re going to clean everything up. That’s a hell of a f***ing win. You guys have had a great week. Three more. Let’s go.”
Elevating together. pic.twitter.com/t5YW7sNcNb
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 19, 2026
Redick does not want his players to rest on their laurels, as there were certainly areas where the Lakers could have done better. The Rockets outrebounded them 44-35 and had a massive 21-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. That led to the visitors getting 23 second-chance points, compared to just six for the hosts.
To go with this, the Rockets forced 20 turnovers and scored 24 points off them. The Lakers, meanwhile, forced 13 turnovers and scored just seven points off them.
If you’d told someone before the game that the Rockets would have such an advantage in second-chance points and points off turnovers, they’d have expected the Lakers to get blown out. So why didn’t that happen?
Well, the Lakers went 40-66 (60.6%) from the field and 10-19 (52.6%) from beyond the arc. The Rockets are a pretty good defensive team, but they were unable to slow down the hosts.
LeBron James ran the show for the Lakers with 19 points (9-15 FG), eight rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and one block. James had eight assists in the first quarter alone as he tormented that Rockets defense.
The Rockets also struggled against Luke Kennard, who put up 27 points (9-13 FG), four rebounds, and three assists. While their defense wasn’t great, their offense was actually much worse.
The Rockets went 35-93 (37.6%) from the field and 11-33 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. They attempted 27 more field goals than the Lakers and still had five fewer makes, which is almost unthinkable. You had expected the Rockets to struggle a bit offensively once Kevin Durant was ruled out with a right knee contusion, but not to this extent.
The Lakers were able to put the clamps on them, with Deandre Ayton notably doing a fine job guarding Rockets star Alperen Sengun. Sengun had 19 points (6-19 FG), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. It was a night to forget for the two-time All-Star.
Redick rightfully praised James, Kennard, and Ayton after the game. If these three can keep playing this well, then the Rockets are in some trouble. They’re also in trouble if Durant isn’t back soon. That offense looked downright awful without him. There is no word yet, though, on when Durant will be back.
Game 2 will tip off at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET. If the Lakers manage to take a 2-0 lead, we might have to start considering them as the favorite.
