Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers, West 1st Round Game 1

NBA

Rockets

52-30

98-107

Final

Lakers

53-29

crypto.com Arena

TV: TSN / Sportsnet

Lead tracker

HOU leadsBiggest lead HOU 2, LAL 16

LAL leads

Team	1	2	3	4	T
HOU	29	19	18	32	98
LAL	33	17	25	32	107

Who won: Lakers 107-98

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 107-98 in West 1st Round Game 1 on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at crypto.com Arena. The Lakers win the series 2-1. Luke Kennard led the Lakers in points (27). Alperen Sengun led the Rockets in points (19).

Recap · Apr 18

Kennard scores 27, LeBron leads Lakers to surprising 107-98 win over Rockets in playoff opener

Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant's injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their...

What it means

Lakers won the series 2-1.

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Injuries and inactives

Rockets7th in Western Conference Division

Alperen Sengun C
Rest
Day-To-Day
Fred VanVleet G
Rest
Day-To-Day
Kevin Durant F
Not Injury Related
Day-To-Day
Steven Adams C
Rest
Day-To-Day

Lakers2nd in Pacific Division

Adou Thiero F
Undisclosed
Day-To-Day
Cameron Carr G
Undisclosed, Bruise
Day-To-Day
Collin Sexton G
Lower Leg
Day-To-Day
Luka Doncic G
Rest
Day-To-Day
Ziaire Williams F
Foot, Bruise
Day-To-Day

Head to head

LAL win series 2-1

Last meeting: Lakers 124, Rockets 116 (Mar 18)

Chirp's angle

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Game info

Venue: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA · Attendance 19,057
Officials: James Capers (Referee), Ed Malloy (Referee), Tyler Ford (Referee), John Butler (Referee)