Overview
- Los Angeles opened the series Saturday with a 107-98 win after Houston ruled Kevin Durant out pregame with a right knee contusion.
- Luke Kennard hit a career playoff high with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 5-of-5 from three as all five Lakers starters scored in double figures.
- The Lakers shot 60.6% from the field despite 20 turnovers and 21 Houston offensive rebounds, while the Rockets struggled to replace Durant’s scoring punch.
- Rockets coach Ime Udoka said imaging showed no structural damage in Durant’s knee, and with Game 2 on Tuesday his availability remains uncertain.
- In Hyderabad, Sunrisers Hyderabad defended 194 to beat Chennai Super Kings by 10 runs as Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen each made 59, and CSK later reported a hamstring tear for Ayush Mhatre with scans planned and a likely short-term absence.