Rockets’ Kevin Durant not sweating possible Lakers playoff matchup despite struggles

The Houston Rockets may have lost their matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers to conclude a 2-1 season series for LA. However, despite the 124-116 loss, Kevin Durant was in no mood to back down post-game.

The 16-time All-Star said post-game that he was confident his team will learn from the loss, claiming that the Lakers’ defence was focused on ‘slowing them down,’ per a post on X by The Athletic’s Law Murray.

“This is the best version of their defense that they’re gonna bring out against us. If we do play them again, we got film to watch and learn from. But this pretty much the only option they can present to us to slow us down,” Durant said.

Durant cited the Rockets’ shooting struggles during a 35-24 fourth quarter, claiming that he thought he lost his team the game, per Athlon Sports.

“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight. It’s that simple. 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,” he said.

The win extended the Lakers’ streak to seven games while improving their record to 44-25. The Rockets fell to 41-27, marking consecutive losses to the Lakers back-to-back.

Luka Doncic led the Lakers with a 40-point performance, adding 10 assists and nine rebounds while shooting 12-of-25 from the field and 7-of-17 from three-point range. The Lakers also saw LeBron James shoot 13-of-14 for 30 points, while Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton combined for 30 as well.

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 just two points in the first half, 13 points in the third quarter on 5-of-6 shooting, and three points in the fourth quarter on only two shot attempts.

Durant recorded 18 points each in both games. In the earlier 100-92 loss, Houston scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-of-16 with nine turnovers. Regardless, the Rockets’ main man clearly believes that his team will learn from their mistakes and is confident about a potential faceoff in the playoffs.

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