The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Houston 107:98 at home in the first game of their first-round playoff series in the National Basketball Association of the United States and Canada, BTA reported.
The most productive player in the game was Lakers guard Luke Kennard, who scored 27 points. Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves were absent from the Lakers' lineup due to injuries, and according to information they may miss the entire first-round series. Houston star Kevin Durant also missed the game.
On the court, however, were LeBron James and Bronny James, who became the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA playoffs. LeBron, 41, had a double-double with 19 points and 13 assists. Bronny, 21, played just under four minutes and didn't score.
The next game will be played in Los Angeles on April 22.
In another Western Conference playoff game, Denver defeated Minnesota 116-105 to take a 1-0 series lead.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, while Jamal Murray led the Denver Nuggets with 30 points. Murray was perfect from the line, making a career-high 16 free throws, while Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points and Cameron Johnson and Christian Brown each added 12 points for Denver.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 22 points.
In the East, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers opened their playoff series with victories.
The Knicks beat Atlanta 113-102 after a strong third quarter in which Karl-Anthony Towns and OJ Anunoby made two consecutive 3-pointers to start a run that saw the New Yorkers pull away and win.
Jaylen Brunson scored 19 of his 28 points in the game in the first quarter, and Towns finished with with 25 points and made 10 of 10 from the free throw line, while Anunoby added 18 points.
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, and James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Toronto Raptors 126-113 in the first game of the Eastern Conference series.
National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff games, first round:
Eastern Conference
Cleveland - Toronto - 126-113
*Cleveland leads the series 1-0, best of four games
New York - Atlanta - 113-102
* New York leads the series 1-0 wins
Western Conference
Denver - Minnesota - 116:105
* Denver leads the series with a 1:0 win
LA Lakers - Houston - 107:98
* Lakers lead the series with a 1:0 win