LeBron’s 19-8-13

LeBron James opened the Lakers’ first-round series with a 107-98 Game 1 win over Houston, finishing with 19 points and 13 assists on Saturday night. (espn.com) Luke Kennard gave Los Angeles its biggest scoring lift with a career playoff-high 27 points, and Deandre Ayton added 19 points with 11 rebounds. The Lakers shot 60.6% from the field, while Houston shot 37.6%. (espn.com) The game turned on efficiency more than volume. Los Angeles attempted 66 shots, the fewest in an NBA game in the past three seasons, and still won by nine despite allowing 21 offensive rebounds. (espn.com) This series opened with both teams missing star scorers. The Lakers played without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, both out since April 2, and the Rockets were without Kevin Durant after a late scratch with a bruised right knee. (espn.com) That left James, in his 19th NBA postseason at age 41, running a thinner Lakers offense through passing and pace control instead of pure scoring. Marcus Smart added 15 points and eight assists, and Bronny James logged his first significant playoff minutes in the second quarter. (espn.com) Houston still had chances to keep it close. Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, Jabari Smith Jr. had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Amen Thompson added 17 points, and Reed Sheppard hit five 3-pointers on the way to 17 points. (espn.com) The bracket now shows Los Angeles up 1-0 in the Western Conference first round after Saturday’s result at home. NBA.com lists Game 2 for Tuesday, April 21, with the Rockets back in Los Angeles before the series shifts to Houston for Game 3 on Friday, April 24. (nba.com) For the Lakers, Game 1 was a reminder that James can still control a playoff opener without chasing 30 points. For Houston, Tuesday is the first chance to answer a loss that came against a short-handed team missing two of its top scorers. (espn.com)