The Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant in the offseason to give the team a veteran leader and offensive superstar. While that pairing has mostly worked out well this season, things didn’t quite come together Monday night.
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The Rockets struggled in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, falling 92-100. It marked the second time in the last three games that Houston failed to reach 100 points. The team also had a hard time hitting from long range, shooting an abysmal 19 percent from beyond the arc.
While Durant called out the latter issue following the loss, he put most of the blame on himself, saying, “I lost the game for us tonight,” per ESPN.
“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight,” said Durant, who scored only two of his 18 points in the second half and committed seven of the Rockets’ 24 turnovers. “It’s that simple. Of course we probably could make more 3s, but it’s on me. I mean, to be honest, I’m the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.”
Durant finished the contest with 18 points. He went 8-of-16 from the field, but was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. He also gave the ball away too much, turning it over seven times.
Most of those struggles came in the second half, when the Lakers started double-teaming Durant. He went just 1-of-5 from the floor during the second half, and registered six of his seven turnovers once the Lakers started to apply more pressure.
The Rockets will need to figure out a way to beat that strategy in time for the playoffs. At 41-26, the Rockets are firmly in the hunt in the Western Conference. In order to pull off some upsets in the postseason, however, someone other than Durant will need to step up when opposing teams start sending multiple resources at the future Hall of Famer.
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