The Los Angeles Lakers announced that star guards Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique muscle strain) remain out for Game 2 of their first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Meanwhile, Rockets star Kevin Durant (right knee contusion) is questionable for the contest.
Durant was injured in Rockets practice ahead of Game 1, bumping knees with one of his teammates. While he went through his pre-game routine, he wasn’t able to suit up in the Lakers’ 107-98 victory. The Rockets’ offense has been up-and-down all season long with Durant, but it was abysmal in Game 1 without the star as the Lakers’ defense locked in.
Ime Udoka revealed after practice on Monday that Durant is making progress but will be considered a game-time decision for Game 2 on Tuesday.
The Lakers held Houston to just 37.6% shooting, including limiting All-Star Alperen Sengun to just 6-of-19 from the field. While the Rockets were still dominant on the glass, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, it just wasn’t enough to overcome their terribly poor shooting. Getting Durant back would obviously be a huge boost to the Rockets’ offense and perhaps be enough to swing things in Game 2, but the Lakers were locked in to start the series and that seems unlikely to change.
Doncic and Reaves remain out, to no one’s surprise, as there has been no solid timeline on their potential return and Grade 2 injuries tend to have a longer recovery time. Thankfully for the Lakers, no one picked up anything that could put them in danger of missing Game 2 so hopefully there could be a repeat performance.
LeBron James led the way, but he was in facilitator mode, choosing to get the rest of the team going, and it worked perfectly. James dished out eight assists in the first quarter on his way to finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists, being in complete control without having to take over scoring-wise.
That part went to Luke Kennard, who had a historic shooting performance and led the Lakers with 27 points on the night. The Lakers also got 19 points and 11 rebounds from Deandre Ayton and all five starters scored in double-figures with Marcus Smart adding 15 points and eight assists while Rui Hachimura chipped in 14 points, three steals and two blocks.
If Durant is on the court for Game 2 things will be different, but the Lakers’ mindset and energy will need to remain the same regardless.
JJ Redick says Kevin Durant injury didn’t affect Lakers’ mindset in Game 1
The injury that kept Durant out of Game 1 was not something that was expected, but head coach JJ Redick made it clear that him being out did not change the Lakers’ mindset going into that contest.
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