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Luke Kennard said the Los Angeles Lakers delivered exactly what they needed in Game 1, even if the performance was not clean for 48 minutes. After scoring a career playoff-high 27 points in the 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets, he called the opener a good first step.
“Obviously it’s great to get the first one, protect home court, do what we’re supposed to do,” Kennard said after Saturday’s win at Crypto.com Arena. “Overall I thought we executed very well.”
The Lakers did have issues. Kennard pointed to turnovers and offensive rebounds as the biggest problems, especially during a second quarter in which Houston made things messy.
“Our two main keys are offensive rebounds and turnovers and we struggled a little bit with both of those,” he said. “I thought second quarter got away from us a little bit with the turnovers. Got a little sloppy there.”
Even then, Kennard said Los Angeles never lost control of its approach. “We stayed poised and organized throughout that entire game,” he said, crediting “everybody, coaches, teammates, everybody for believing in each other.”
Kennard’s role has grown since arriving from Atlanta in early February, and he said the stretch run helped him adjust to a larger ball-handling burden with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined. “Those games leading up to now kind of developed the rhythm playing in that role,” Kennard said. “It gave me confidence going into the playoffs of doing more and being controlled and poised and looking for my shot when I can.”
That confidence showed in Game 1. Kennard made 9 of his first 12 shots and hit four 3-pointers, giving the Lakers a steady scoring punch while LeBron James handled the offense and Deandre Ayton controlled the glass.
Kennard said the team’s depth has become a strength because of the injuries that have forced constant adjustments. “We haven’t been fully healthy a lot,” he said. “It just speaks on the guys in the locker room staying ready, being ready.”
He also singled out the support pieces that helped keep Los Angeles organized. Kennard noted Marcus Smart’s big three, Bronny James’ first meaningful playoff minutes and the defensive work from Rui Hachimura and Ayton.
“Everybody played a big role tonight,” Kennard said. “It’s going to take everybody. We know that we got to continue to elevate each other and push each other and continue to be a team.”
The Lakers now have a 1-0 series lead, but Kennard’s message was clear: the first win mattered, and the details still matter more.
