The Los Angeles Lakers claimed victory in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, taking care of business with a 107-98 final score at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers accomplished this feat despite the absence of Luka Doncic, who’s been out since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2.
Doncic traveled overseas to seek treatment for his injury as the Lakers closed out their 2025-26 regular-season schedule. The NBA MVP candidate returned to Los Angeles just before his team began its postseason run.
Doncic was back on the practice court for the Lakers on Monday, doing some very limited work as the team prepared for its Game 2 matchup against the Rockets on Tuesday night.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked about Doncic’s return to the practice court when speaking with reporters.
“It’s been nice. It’s been really nice,” Redick said of Doncic’s presence. “He definitely rebounded and passed on some shooting drills. Having the group together two out of the last three days has been really nice.”
Doncic still doesn’t have a clear timeline for return, but some reports indicate he could be back for the later stages of the Lakers’ first-round series against the Rockets. Los Angeles’ second-leading scorer, Austin Reaves, is also out indefinitely with a Grade 2 oblique strain he suffered during the same April 2 loss against the Thunder.
LeBron James and Luke Kennard led the way in the Lakers’ Game 1 win.
James finished the contest 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds — playing 38 minutes in his 23rd NBA season. Kennard recorded a playoff career-high 27 points, shooting 5/5 from behind the 3-point arc.
Game 2 of the Rockets-Lakers series will tipoff at 10:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Read the full article here
