With both teams experiencing significant injuries, the Los Angeles Lakers are taking on the Houston Rockets in game two of the first round of the NBA playoffs<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> will face off against the Houston Rockets<\/a> in game two of the first round of the NBA playoffs tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n The Lakers are coming off a 107-98 game one win where guard Luke Kennard<\/a> dropped 27 points with four rebounds and three assists, while forward LeBron James<\/a> had 19 points with eight rebounds and 13 assists.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m already thinking about ways that I could have been better, putting us in a position to be more successful, both offensively and defensively,\u201d James said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of room for improvement going into Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakers-Rockets full first round schedule pic.twitter.com\/1fcZ71Yjw5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The biggest storyline for this series continues to be health for both teams. Rockets star forward Kevin Durant<\/a> missed game one of the series with a right knee contusion and is listed as questionable for game two.<\/p>\n Durant injured his knee when he collided with a teammate during a practice last Wednesday.<\/p>\n Los Angeles is still without guards Luka Don\u010di\u0107 or Austin Reaves<\/a> \u2014 their two leading scorers \u2014, as both players have been out since the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> on April 2. Don\u010di\u0107 is dealing with a hamstring strain and Reaves is dealing with an oblique strain.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 returned to the team after seeking special treatment in Europe and has been practicing with the team, but the Lakers have yet to give an update on when he may return.<\/p>\n Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n The winner of this series will play the winner of the Thunder and Phoenix Suns<\/a> series.<\/p>\n