LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been fierce competitors on the court and good buddies outside of it. On Tuesday, James got the better of Durant when he led the LA Lakers to a 101-94 victory over the Rockets to go up 2-0 in their first-round series.
After the Lakers sealed the victory at Crypto.com Arena, LBJ took a slight dig at his freak athlete of a buddy.
“We don’t have no satisfaction. That game is over and done with, but it’s still a tall challenge. 7-foot tall, too…He hates that. He might be mad at me if he sees that. He wants to be 6-9 or 6-10 so bad, but he’s 7-foot for sure.”
LeBron James was speaking with a lighthearted tone here, but as Game 2 got underway, the King was all business. Both he and Durant had the responsibility to set the tone offensively for their respective teams, and on this night, it was James who got the upper hand.
Scoring 28 points and dishing out seven assists, James did a better job of using his gravity to get his teammates involved. In contrast, Durant (23 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field) struggled to make plays off double-teams, committing a game-high nine turnovers in this matchup.
As the series moves to Toyota Center, James and the rest of the purple and gold squad will continue to find ways to frustrate Durant and put the pressure on other Rockets to step out of their comfort zone.
“Steph’s at Coachella”: Nick Wright Lauds LeBron James for Outlasting and Outperforming Other All-Time Greats
Though LeBron James’ critics will always find a reason to stick around, his supporters have been highly vocal as he carries a heavy load in the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Fox Sports’ Nick Wright put James’ Game 2 performance into perspective by comparing him to other all-time greats in the league today.
“Checking in on the NBA’s old timers…Durant’s flirting with 10 turnovers in his first playoff game as a Rocket. Steph’s at Coachella. Kawhi’s planting trees. LeBron is averaging 39 MPG & 24-8-10 to go up 2-0 without his team’s 2 leading scorers.”
At 41 years old, James has certainly beefed up his GOAT case by continuing to perform at a higher level and leading his team to postseason wins in year 23.
