The LA Lakers played locked-down defense on Kevin Durant in their last game against the Rockets. The forward scored 18 points in total, including just two in the second half. This was the second-worst performance from Durant against the Lakers in his career. After the game, he sounded dejected, and fans did not take lightly to his statements.
In the post-game media session, Durant did not escape the questions and took the blame on himself for not getting better shots for his team. He said:
“I don’t know, maybe I just gotta wait in the corner, space the floor for other guys… I just feel like I should get outta way, let other guys dribble the ball.”
However, the Rockets fans did not like the tone in his voice and called out the superstar for giving up on a championship-winning team. One wrote:
“Such a Drake”
Another user detailed the issues with Durant’s offense and compared him to former player Carmelo Anthony:
“And people actually think KD is a better scorer than Carmelo Anthony lol. When he’s not playing with 2 or 3 first ballot Hall of Famers and actually has to face double teams, this is what you get. Melo used to get literally triple and quadruple teamed and still scored lol”
This Lakers fan also mocked KD for giving up to the defense and wrote:
“The Los Angeles Lakers defense got him in character development mode.
Bruh started planning a whole new career mid possession.”
Another user mentioned his tenure with the Golden State Warriors, stating that he once again wanted it easy:
“Like you did when you joined Warriors. You want it to be too easy
Never been a good passer or leader and never worked on it either”
This user also believed that Durant should again play with the Warriors:
“Bro shoulda just went back to the warriors man smh ..”
Durant was double-teamed the entire game, but could not convert the open shots to points. The Lakers seem to be working on the defensive end to create opportunities and prepare for the postseason.
“We just executed really,” JJ Redick praises the Lakers’ 4th quarter defense on Kevin Durant
In the absence of Alperen Sengun, Kevin Durant was the only scoring option for the Rockets, and the Lakers perfectly used that to their advantage. They blitzed Durant on every play way before the 3-point line to frustrate him into making a pass. The strategy worked.
Even though, offensively, it was not the best day for the Lakers, they played good defense to keep the game under control. Lakers head coach JJ Redick also acknowledged the team’s effort and said:
“I thought defensively in the second half with some of the adjustments we made at halftime, we just executed really, really well, particularly with just trying to get the ball out of Durant’s hands. We forced nine turnovers in the fourth quarter doing that. Just a terrific defensive second half for us.”
The Rockets will again face the Lakers in a back-to-back game and aim to win the second. Sengun’s availability is not confirmed, but the head coach Ime Udoka will have to frame a plan for tackling the Lakers’ defense on the 2-time NBA champion.
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