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Rockets star Kevin Durant out for Game 1 against Lakers with knee injury

April 19, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant did not play in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against the Lakers on Saturday night due to a right knee injury, Rockets coach Ime Udoka announced before the game.

Durant bumped knees with a teammate during Wednesday’s practice in Houston and couldn’t move his knee well during pregame testing, Udoka said. The future Hall of Famer entered Saturday as questionable with a right knee contusion but now will miss just his fifth game all season, leaving both teams without their leading scorer for the opener of the best-of-seven series.

“It’s soreness,” Udoka said. “It’s very tender. Tough to bend in certain ways. Not a lot of swelling but hit in a very awkward spot I guess, more than anything. Could be a regular bumped knee and I think he could probably play through that. … Pain tolerance is one thing, but actually limited movement is more of the cause.”

Udoka said the injury was “nothing major,” but couldn’t guarantee that his high-scoring forward would be available for Game 2 on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. Durant’s discomfort is coming from an area above his patellar tendon, Udoka said, adding that the 16-time All-Star had imaging done that came back clear.

The fifth-leading scorer in NBA history, Durant led the Rockets with 26 points per game this season, his first in Houston.

Guards Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie, who have split starts down the stretch for the fifth-seeded Rockets, will both start on Saturday, joining All-Star center Alperen Sengun, guard Amen Thompson and forward Jabari Smith Jr., in the starting lineup against the fourth-seeded Lakers, who are playing without NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic (33.5 ppg) and high-scoring guard Austin Reaves (23.3 ppg) indefinitely.

Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) were injured April 2. Both of their injuries typically take several weeks to heal, but Doncic traveled to Europe this month for treatment in hopes of getting back sometime during the first round.

Doncic arrived at Crypto.com Arena about 45 minutes before tip-off on Saturday, and Lakers coach JJ Redick said he spoke to Doncic on the phone once the Slovenian star returned to Los Angeles.

“I talked to him yesterday when he landed,” Redick said. “He’s in good spirits, and we’re excited to see him today.”

In the meantime, Redick landed on starting forward Rui Hachimura rather than Jake LaRavia alongside LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton for Game 1. Redick chose the same starting lineup for the regular-season finale against Utah last weekend. In that game, Hachimura had a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double against the last-place Jazz.

After a full week of practices for the first time since preseason training camp, Redick said he believes his players are ready for the playoffs, not just from the game-planning side of the equation, but with performance as well; handling the ebbs and flows of readying their bodies for the playoff environment.

“I think our guys, both from a mental and physical standpoint are prepared to go tonight,” Redick said.

Orange County Register

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Rockets star Kevin Durant out for Game 1 against Lakers with knee injury

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