The Houston Rockets would have lost their match against the Los Angeles Lakers to end the season series 2–1 for LA. However, despite the 124-116 loss, Kevin Durant was in no mood to back down after the game.
The 16-time All-Star said after the game that he was confident his team would learn from the loss, claiming the Lakers' defense was focused on 'slowing them down,' according to a post on The Athletic's Law Murray.
Durant said, "This is the best version of their defense that they will present against us. If we play them again, we'll have film to watch and learn from. But that's the only option they can present to us to slow us down."
According to Athlon Sports, Durant cited the Rockets' shooting struggles during the 35–24 fourth quarter, claiming he felt he had lost the game to his team.
"I feel like I lost the game for us tonight. It's that simple. I mean, honestly, I'm aggressive and the opposing team is going to use all of their resources and not let me get comfortable," he said.
The win extended the Lakers' winning streak to seven games while improving their record to 44–25. The Rockets fell to 41-27, giving the Lakers consecutive losses.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with a 40-point performance, including 10 assists and nine rebounds, while shooting 12-of-25 from the field and 7-of-17 from three-point range. The Lakers saw LeBron James shoot 13 of 14 for 30 points, while Austin Reaves and DeAndre Ayton also combined for 30 points.
Durant finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, shooting 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 5 from three. He had only two points in the first half, 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the third quarter, and three points on only two shot attempts in the fourth quarter.
Durant recorded 18 points in each of both games. In the previous 100–92 loss, Houston scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 4 of 16 with nine turnovers. Regardless, the Rockets' main man clearly believes his team will learn from their mistakes and is confident about a potential face-off in the playoffs.
The post Rockets' Kevin Durant not sweating potential Lakers playoff matchup despite struggles appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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