It was always going to be a hard task for the Los Angeles Lakers to compete in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets knowing that they would have to do it without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but at least for one game, the Lakers proved that there's still enough talent in the tank to be competitive.

The Lakers did have the benefit of playing the Rockets while they lacked a key piece of their own. Houston was without Kevin Durant for game one of the series. 

Naturally, the Lakers were preparing to face Durant while they were looking ahead to the playoffs and getting the chance to play the Rockets without him was a huge plus. The Lakers came away with a 107-98 win over Houston, but Lakers head coach JJ Redick knew that with or without Durant, the Lakers were ready for Houston.

"I don't think it affected our mentality... This is all we've talked about for two months, it's just our playoff mentality," Redick said (via The Sporting Tribune). "You can't worry about who's in or out of the lineup. It's our game plan, our standards, its' how we play. We built towards that and I think our guys met the moment."

They certainly did meet the moment, especially Luke Kennard.

Kennard had a legacy defining night against the Rockets on Saturday. The Los Angeles sharpshooter, who was meant to be a spark off the bench, but has been thrust into a starting guard role, set a new career-high with 27 points, which led both teams, while shooting a perfect 5-5 from three point range. 

Kennard had been having trouble adjusting to the starting point guard role in recent games, at least from an offensive standpoint, but he rose to the occasion and reminded the Lakers who they traded for at the perfect moment to power Los Angeles to a win.

It wasn't just Kennard, though. The entire team got involved.

Lebron James and Deandre Ayton both scored 19 points while Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura followed with 15 and 14 points respectively. 

James added eight rebounds and 13 assists to his 19 points while Ayton added 11 rebounds to his. The team was prepared for a challenge and collectively understood that they each had to step up and fill the void left by their two top scorers and everyone met that challenge.

The playoffs are a mental challenge as it is when a team is at full strength, but the will, grit and character of the Lakers is being tested even more. 

For at least one game against a Durant-less Rockets squad, they passed that test. Now they need that success to keep going.