The Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant in the offseason to give the workforce a veteran leader and offensive superstar. While that pairing has largely labored out nicely this season, issues didn’t fairly come collectively Monday evening.
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The Rockets struggled in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, falling 100-92. It marked the second time in the final three video games that Houston failed to attain 100 factors. The workforce additionally had a tough time hitting from lengthy vary, capturing an abysmal 19% from past the arc.
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While Durant referred to as out the latter challenge 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,” mentioned Durant, who scored solely two of his 18 factors in the second half and dedicated seven of the Rockets’ 24 turnovers. “It’s that straightforward. Of course we most likely may make extra 3s, but it surely’s on me. I imply, to be trustworthy, I’m the offense and the opposing workforce goes to use all their sources and never let me get snug.”
Durant completed the contest with 18 factors. He went 8-of-16 from the subject, however was 0-for-3 from past the arc. He additionally gave the ball away an excessive amount of, turning it over seven occasions.
Most of these struggles got here in the second half, when the Lakers began double-teaming Durant. He went simply 1-of-5 from the flooring throughout the second half, and registered six of his seven turnovers as soon as the Lakers began to apply extra strain.
The Rockets will want to determine a approach to beat that technique 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, nonetheless, somebody aside from Durant will want to step up when opposing groups begin sending a number of sources at the future Hall of Famer.