Kevin Durant takes blame as Lakers disrupt Rockets’ offense

Houston–the Los Angeles Lakers‘Potential playoff preview left for defense late Monday night Houston Rockets supper star Kevin Durant Searching for solutions.

The Lakers, who are optimistic they are in the process of building a defensive identity after struggling on that end of the court for most of the season, threw a steady diet of double-teams at Durant in the fourth quarter. The results were disastrous for the Rockets, who committed nine turnovers while scoring only 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the final frame, allowing the Lakers to extend their winning streak to six games. win 100-92 At Toyota Center.

“I 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 can probably make more 3s, but that’s on me. I mean, honestly, I’m aggressive and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.

“In the first half, I got comfortable in ISO, got comfortable coming out of pindowns, pick-and-rolls, and they decided not to let me get comfortable anymore. So I’ve got to become smarter, get better with the ball. I’ll probably have to shoot some of those double-teams, but space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in the dunker spot, just provide space for my teammates. To be able to be there as a resource I didn’t need to keep the ball as much as I did tonight.”

The Lakers (43-25) extended their lead over the Rockets (41-16) to 1½ games in the battle for the third seed in the Western Conference. Houston, which hosts the Lakers again Wednesday night, is only a half-game ahead denver nuggets And minnesota timberwolves.

Houston often struggles late in games when teams send a second defender to Durant to force the ball out of his hands while he handles the ball at the top of the offense, prompting the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history to suggest that perhaps he needs to “just move out of the way” and create space in the corner to space the floor in those situations.

The Lakers’ defensive tenacity, on the other hand, is a recent development.

Los Angeles ranks 20th in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing 115.7 points per 100 possessions. But the Lakers have shown tremendous defensive improvement, winning nine of their last 10 games, including wins over several playoff teams. The Lakers have given up 109.3 points per 100 possessions during that span, which ranks sixth in the league.

A dominant defensive effort was necessary to win on Monday night, when the Lakers came out on offense luka doncic Scored 36 points on 14 of 27 shooting. In the second half, Los Angeles held Houston to 35 points and forced 15 turnovers while overcoming the Lakers’ own offensive problems (8-of-34 3-point shooting for the game).

“It’s something we’ve struggled with earlier in the season,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I think it shows the commitment that our guys have right now to that end of the floor, understanding that we’re going to win on both sides of the ball. We’ve won a lot of games with the offensive side of the ball, and I’ve shown, I think, now — whether it’s been nix That game, the Wolves game, this game – we can beat good teams with defense.”

Doncic interrupted austin reeves From a neighboring locker for a sarcastic answer to a question about the key to the Lakers’ defensive success.

“Luca is locking that s— up!” Doncic quipped.

Later in the interview room, Doncic credited Lakes’ defensive improvement to “effort and communication.”

“That’s what good teams do,” Doncic said. “You’re not going to have a good day shooting the ball every day.”

Rockets All-Star Center alperen sengun He sat out due to lower back pain, taking Houston’s second leading scorer out of the equation, simplifying the strategy of sending a double-team into Durant. The Lakers adjusted their strategy to double Durant in the second half. As Redick said, he opted to “fire” instead of attack him, until Durant dribbled past another defender.

“I’ve got to be smarter, better with the ball. I’ve probably got to shoot some of those double-teams, but have to leave space, be willing to catch and shoot, be willing to be a screener, just be in a dunker spot, just be able to be there as a resource to provide space for my teammates. I haven’t needed to keep the ball as much as I did tonight.”

Kevin Durant

“He’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen play obviously, so you’ve got to try to show him different looks, try to keep him off balance,” the Lakers star said. Lebron JamesWho had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including some great dunks to close out the fast break. “And when he shoots, the expectation is that he’ll miss. He doesn’t miss many shots. So I thought we did a good job of game planning, but also changing up our pitches. Can’t run a lot of the same coverages throughout the game.”

Durant finished 8 of 16 from the field, but only 1 of 5 in the second half, when he committed six of his seven turnovers. He expressed doubt as to whether the Rockets benefited from him being the primary ball handler during games, given how the Rockets have struggled when doubled.

“I feel like it makes us stable,” Durant said. “When I come across half [court] And then they wait for me to drive off, but I know they’re about to double, so I wait a second. I just think the whole process is very slow. And I just think it’s all on me, because the team, when they look at me, honestly, they look like they’re one-on-five. you know what I’m saying? Because I see two guys on elbows and two guys on the box coming out of the corner to help. When I take the ball up it’s almost like a field. When I try to post anywhere, she gets double-teamed. So I’m just trying to find ways to open myself up, open up my teammates.”