Lakers' Luke Kennard, LeBron James have been connected for a long time originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers needed Luke Kennard in Game 1.
And the lefty sharpshooter with a 15-year connection to LeBron James teamed with the King to claim a Game 1 postseason victory over the Houston Rockets.
Kennard was brilliant: He scored 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds and three assists.
The Lakers traded for Kennard before the deadline this season, knowing that a shooting wizard like him is exactly the right partner for an offense with LeBron, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves making plays for their teammates.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, though, Doncic and Reaves are both out with injuries. That left James and his supporting cast to try and beat the Rockets.
Houston was without Kevin Durant for Game 1, so everyone was missing something.
Only the Lakers had Kennard, and that was the difference.
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Kennard is from the Columbus area in high school, and he played on LeBron's AAU team back in the day.
At Franklin High School, Kennard scored more points in high school than James did (2,646).
On the night Kennard passed James on the Ohio all-time scoring list, James said: "He's one of my kids. That's great. I'm happy for him."
Kennard ended up No. 2 on the OHSAA scoring list (2,977), behind just Jon Diebler (3,208), who spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the Butler Bulldogs.
Those days are long ago, but it's working out just fine for the Lakers.
They're relying on a couple dudes from the Buckeye State to carry them, and Kennard is proving capable of keeping up with the King.
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