Overview
- Kevin Durant was ruled out Saturday with a bruised right knee after testing it in pregame warmups for the series opener in Los Angeles.
- Coach Ime Udoka said imaging showed no structural damage and described the knee as very tender, adding he hopes the absence lasts only one game with Game 2 on Tuesday.
- With Durant unavailable, the Rockets started Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie alongside Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Şengün.
- The Lakers remained without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves after Grade 2 strains to Dončić’s left hamstring and Reaves’s left oblique, and Dončić returned to Los Angeles on Friday following specialized treatment in Europe.
- Los Angeles named Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton as its starters, signaling expanded roles as the team tries to protect home court without its top two scorers.