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Above all else, the Lakers were committed to being resilient in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Even if they were missing their starting backcourt, the Lakers were committed to being resilient against the rugged and physical Houston Rockets, who were playing without Kevin Durant after the star suffered a bruised knee in practice.

And as a group the Lakers were resilient, following the lead of LeBron James and a career-best outing from Luke Kennard to pull out a gritty 107-98 win over the Rockets Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

James was magnificent, collecting a near triple-double with 19 points on nine-for-15 shooting, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Kennard was outstanding in his new role as facilitator and a main hub of the offense, scoring a playoff career-high 27 points. His three three-pointers in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers the separation they needed to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. He was nine-for-13 shooting from the field and five for five from three-point range.

But James tied Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton by appearing in his 19th postseason, and Kennard had plenty of help from the rest of their starting mates.

Deande Ayton had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Smart had 15 points and eight assists and Rui Hachimura scored 14.

Game 2 is Tuesday night here.

James had eight assists in the first quarter, his career-high for assists in any quarter of a playoff game.

The Lakers followed his lead.

They started the game with a purpose, making their first four shots, missing the next and then making their next four in a row to finish the first quarter shooting 15 of 19 from the field— 78.9%.

Kennard was the best in the group, shooting five for six in the first quarter and scoring 11 points to help the Lakers open a 33-29 lead by the end of the first 12 minutes.

Injured Rockets star Kevin Durant, third from left on bench, watches Lakers star LeBron James inbound the basketball during Game 1.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

But the game slowed down in the second quarter when the Lakers scored just 17 points while the Rockets could muster 19.

Forty minutes before the Lakers tipped off against the Rockets, Luka Doncic was seen walking down the hallway with his bodyguard toward L.A.’s locker room. Doncic was not playing because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, joining teammate Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle train) on the bench dressed in street clothes.

The Rockets announced that Durant was out for the first game because of a right knee contusion that occurred during practice Wednesday. Durant, the Rockets’ leading scorer (26.0 points per game), worked about before the game but was unable to play because of “soreness and tenderness.” The Rockets hope he’ll be available for Game 2.

“Bumped a knee in practice one of our days, on Wednesday,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Hopefully it’s a one-game thing, but [he] tried it out just shortly ago and didn’t feel good enough.”

For the Lakers, there was an element of shock they had to deal with when Doncic and Reaves were injured at Oklahoma City on April 2.

They eventually got past that, winning their last three games to end the regular season.

“Ten days ago, when our guys get hurt, I think it’s easy to look at adversity and the ups and downs of an NBA season as like some form of the basketball gods punishing you,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “The reality is it’s opportunities to build resilience. … Smart said it after our last regular-season game: ‘We’re right where we’re supposed to be.’ I think the whole season for the staff, our players, our team, our group, it’s been about building resiliency, and that’s what you need in the playoffs.”

UEFA Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain claim 2-0 first-leg lead over English Premier League champions Liverpool.

Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League defence remains on course after a dominant 2-0 victory against Liverpool in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie.

The home side took the lead thanks to a deflected effort in the 11th minute on Wednesday, after Desire Doue’s effort from outside the box looped over the helpless Giorgi Mamardashvili.

The Reds are long out of their own title defence in the English Premier League this season and left only with the Champions League as a faint hope of silverware, but Arne Slot’s side rallied in response to the Parisians’ fortune until the half-time whistle.

The second period was a far different matter, and all too familiar to Liverpool fans this season. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia deservedly doubled the advantage in the 65th minute when the Georgian international dribbled into the box before rounding the keeper.

A total of 18 shots were registered by the home side, with six on target. Liverpool managed just three efforts on goal with none on target in reply.

It was far from the most fluent display by Luis Enrique’s side in the French capital, despite relentless passing and a 74 percent share of the possession, but their second-half showing was a vast improvement from the first.

Achraf Hakimi’s 82nd-minute drive was one of the biggest moments to settle the tie, but drew a fine save from Mamardashvili, low to his left, which keeps his side in with a chance as the teams head to Anfield for the second leg next Tuesday.

There was little the Reds’ keeper could do other than hope, as Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele produced a moment of brilliance with two minutes to play when he exchanged a one-two with substitute Lee Kang-In in the box only to see his fierce strike rebound off the post.

It was Liverpool’s fourth consecutive defeat away from home, a first for the Merseyside club since April 2012

The winner will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round, with the latter holding a 2-1 advantage following the first leg of their quarterfinal in the Spanish capital on Tuesday.

The number of babies born rose at the fastest pace in seven years in January, driven largely by an increase in marriages, government data showed Wednesday.

A total of 26,916 babies were born in January, up 11.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The January figure was the highest for the month since 2019, when 30,271 babies were born, the ministry said, noting that births are gradually recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

The number of newborns has been on an upward trend since July 2024.

The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.1 from a year earlier to 0.99 in January.

It marked the highest rate since January 2024, when such data began being compiled on a monthly basis.

On an annual basis, the last time the fertility rate exceeded 1 was in 2017, when it stood at 1.052.

The rate then fell to a record low of 0.721 in 2023 before beginning to rebound in 2024.

However, the rate still remains well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

The ministry said the recent rise in births appears to have been influenced by a continued increase in marriages, government policies supporting childbirth and the growth in the population of women in their early 30s.

In South Korea, where childbirth outside of marriage remains rare, an increase in marriages tends to precede a rise in births.

The number of marriages in January jumped 12.4 percent on-year to 22,640, marking the 22nd consecutive month of growth.

The figure is the highest for the month of January since 2018, when 24,370 marriages were recorded.

The number of divorces also went up 4.2 percent on-year to 7,280 in the cited month, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths went down 17.6 percent from a year earlier to 32,454, resulting in a natural population decline of 5,539.

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England back row Ollie Chessum says the fear of being chased down by Louis Bielle-Biarrey, France’s free-scoring, high-speed wing, spooked him as he went in for a 60m intercept try in England’s 48-46 Six Nations defeat on Saturday.

Chessum, who scored two tries, set up a third and was England’s star performer in Paris, admitted he had “copped a lot of stick” for not scoring closer to the posts as he ran in unopposed in the 51st minute.

Fly-half Fin Smith missed the subsequent conversion from out near the left-hand 10m line and England ultimately came up just short in a 94-point epic.

“I was adamant that there was a red scrum out lurking in the background that was going to bring me down,” said Chessum.

“So I just pinned my ears back and hoped that no-one managed to grab on to my coattails and bring me to the floor.

“I’ve copped a lot of stick, I think, for not heading toward the posts. My brother’s sent me a few things, but it was unfamiliar territory for me to be in a line-break situation like that.

“I’m sure Fin would have thanked me for it being a bit closer, but I can’t turn back the clock now.”

Bielle-Biarrey, who scored four tries in France’s win, was in close attendance as Chessum picked off Matthieu Jalibert’s pass on his own 10m line, but neither he, Jalibert or full-back Thomas Ramos could tun and catch the Leicester man before the line.

Chessum’s score came as no surprise to Tigers’ coach Geoff Parling, who revealed that the 25-year-old’s top sprint speed has been clocked at 9.3 metres per second.

“As soon as he got the intercept I knew he was going to score because I know how fast he is,” said Parling.

“He moves very well for a big man.

“I thought he was exceptional against France – he kept trying to drive the team forward and that is what he does for us too.”

Chessum said England’s final-round display was an improvement but could not mask a miserable Six Nations campaign that returned only one victory from five matches and led to a fifth-place finish.

“It was a frustrating few weeks, there’s no hiding the disappointment and frustration,” he said.

“For the middle of those three weeks [defeats against Scotland, Ireland and Italy], we were nowhere near where we wanted to be and that shows in the table.

“I don’t know about it being a standard-setter, but I think [the France performance] just felt more like us and the way we wanted to play.

“It felt like the way we have played for the majority of last year.

“I suppose, from our perspective, we’d want to try and bottle that feeling as much as possible.”

Chessum landed back at London Heathrow from Paris on Sunday lunchtime and he and Leicester team-mate Jack van Poortvliet took a taxi straight to Mattioli Woods Welford Road to catch the end of Tigers’ 66-14 victory over Leicester in the Prem Rugby Cup final.

Dejan Joveljic had a goal and an assist against his former team, Lasse Johnsen had a goal and an assist in his league debut and Sporting Kansas City beat the Galaxy 2-1 on Saturday night.

Neither team scored until Joveljic used assists from Manu García and Johnsen to score two minutes into stoppage time for a 1-0 lead at halftime. García earned his first assist after tallying nine as a rookie last season.

Joveljić, along with Stephen Afrifa, set up an insurance goal by Johnsen in the 74th minute for a 2-0 advantage. Afrifa’s helper was first this season and his second in 39 appearances.

That proved necessary for the victory after Marco Reus used his head for an unassisted score in the 82nd minute to cut the Galaxy’s deficit to a goal. Reus scored for the first time this season and the seventh time in 31 career matches.

John Pulskamp finished with four saves to help Sporting KC (1-2-1) earn its first victory of the season while putting an end to a seven-match losing streak on the road dating to last season.

Novak Micovic saved two shots for the Galaxy (1-2-1).

Joveljic totaled 34 goals and 11 assists in 106 starts with the Galaxy from 2021-24. He had 15 goals and six assists during the Galaxy’s championship run in 2024 when he scored the second goal in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bullls. His third goal this season gives him 21 along with three assists in 36 matches with Sporting KC.

The Galaxy played without Gabriel Pec, who was suspended for the match after receiving a red card in a 4-1 road loss to the Colorado Rapids last week. Joseph Paintsil was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The Galaxy have a slim lead in the all-time series 29-28-18, including a 19-9-9 record at home.

Both teams posted home victories in two matchups last season.

Up next for the Galaxy: at Portland Timbers on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy recovered sufficiently from a back injury to begin his defence of the Players Championship but he ended round one seven shots off the pace.

The world number two only arrived at TPC Sawgrass on the eve of the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament, having opted to stay at home for treatment on the injury that forced him to pull out of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

He showed no obvious signs of discomfort in crushing his opening drive 329 yards down the middle of the fairway, but he took 73 more shots for a two-over par total, with birdie putts on the 16th and 17th holes grazing the edge of the cup.

McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mate Sepp Straka is alongside three Americans setting the clubhouse pace on five under.

Austrian Straka chipped in for an eagle three on the par-five 16th in his bogey-free 67 to join Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges and Sahith Theegala atop the leaderboard.

“We were fortunate to play in the afternoon with hardly any wind and the greens a lot softer,” said Straka, referring to the heavy rain that doused the course earlier in the day.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood was among those playing in the worst of the weather. He briefly reached five under, after a run of eagle-birdie-birdie on Sawgrass’ notoriously difficult 16th, 17th and 18th holes. He called it a “complete bonus of a stretch” of holes.

Having started on the 10th, the world number three then birdied the second but a torrential downpour that halted play for around 25 minutes checked his momentum, and successive bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes dropped him back into the pack.

He is in good company on three under, with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, Norwegian Viktor Hovland and American Xander Schauffele also enjoying solid starts.

The rain delay meant four players were unable to finish their opening rounds as the sun set and darkness fell. Among them is unheralded American Austin Smotherman, who will return on Friday morning to face a 15-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole – his 18th – to take the first-round lead.

In rapidly fading light, Smotherman hit his second shot on the par-five hole into the heart of the green, but while his playing partners opted to finish the hole, he decided to mark his ball and wait for the morning light.