The Houston Rockets will play without star forward Kevin Durant in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoffs series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant suffered a right knee contusion in practice on Wednesday and was ruled out less than two hours before tipoff on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. Both teams enter the matchup dealing with key injuries.
The No. 4 seed Lakers (53-29) host the No. 5 seed Rockets (52-30) in the Western Conference playoffs at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Lakers have won their last three regular-season games despite missing Luka Dončić (grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (grade 2 left oblique strain). The Rockets have won nine of their last 10 games and went 4-0 without Durant during the regular season, where he averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists after his trade from the Phoenix Suns last offseason. This marks the teams' first postseason meeting since 2020, with the Lakers winning two of three regular-season matchups this year. Lakers fans will hope 41-year-old LeBron James can carry the load against a Houston squad that led the NBA in rebounding at 48.1 per game. Houston coach Ime Udoka addressed Durant's status before the game, saying the injury stemmed from bumping his knee in Wednesday's practice. > Durant underwent imaging and nothing major came up. We hope it's just a one-game thing, Udoka said. Durant went through pre-game warmups at Crypto.com Arena but was ultimately ruled out. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles. Betting lines shifted after the news, with Houston opening as a 5.5-point favorite before dropping to 2.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
