Jalen Brunson scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the first half Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and New York posted a 113-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

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Some people may have thought that LeBron James was going to be very aggressive offensively in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets and look to score a lot of points. Some may have even felt that doing so was going to be necessary for him with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out of action.Instead, James played the role of table-setter for the vast majority of Game 1 on Saturday. He had eight assists in the first quarter alone to jump-start the Lakers' offense, and although he had only four points during that first quarter, his approach worked. The team shot 78.9% from the field in the first period and ended it with a 33-29 lead, and James' early play set the tone for L.A.'s 107-98 victory.James finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists, and after the game, he talked about the role he decided to play."For me, I got to do a little bit of everything," said James. "It's what the job requires. So, being a triple threat, being able to rebound, being able to pass, being able to shoot and also defend and put myself in position where I can bring value to this ball club, bring value to this team throughout this series."It's gonna be a game-to-game situation to see how the game plays out."James did get a little more offensive-minded late in the game by scoring nine points in the fourth quarter to pad L.A.'s lead and repel Houston's attempts to make a rally. But overall, he throttled back and let a few others do more of the heavy lifting offensively.Center Deandre Ayton, who may be the biggest key in this series for L.A. other than James, had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, as well as 11 rebounds. The biggest offensive star on Saturday was sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard. He went 9-of-13 from the field and made all five of his 3-point attempts to score a career playoff high of 27 points.Granted, the Lakers may have been gifted this win due to the unexpected absence of Rockets future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, who was ruled out just prior to the opening tip due to a knee ailment. But the Lakers' balanced offensive output, their high efficiency they shot 60.6% overall and 52.6% from downtown and their defensive effort and decision-making bode well for them moving forward.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James on roundabout role he played in Lakers' Game 1 win