Rockets star Kevin Durant frequently found himself double teamed in Game 2 of the series.
Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant lamented that the Los Angeles Lakers sent double teams his way from the first possession of Game 2.
He wasn’t wrong. On his first offensive touch 65 seconds into the first quarter, the Lakers made sure Luke Kennard and Deandre Ayton defended Durant.
It was like that for much of the game. The Lakers either wanted Durant to take a shot with two defenders on him or force the ball out of his hands with a pass.
“They feel confident in that scheme,” Durant said.
Though Durant scored 20 points in the first half, he had just three in the third and fourth quarters as the fourth-seeded Lakers defeated fifth-seeded Houston 101-94 Tuesday for a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Durant took just 12 shots – nearly six below his season average – and just five in the second half while committing a season-high nine turnovers.
“It’s hard to get into our actions,” Durant said. “We’re used to teams playing pick-and-roll or maybe trapping me or playing in the drop. But they’re switching, and then just running a guy at me at the half(-court line) or at the 3-point line, or wherever I’m at, to double.”
Durant, one of the game’s most gifted scorers and the NBA’s fifth all-time leader in points, is not fond of double teams. He prefers operating one-on-one, where he has an advantage against most defenders. The Lakers, who are missing Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves due to injuries, want to eliminate that advantage as much as possible.
“He’s the type of player who can take over a series,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
In three meetings this season, the Lakers won twice in Houston, and Durant averaged 20.3 ppg and shot 56.1%.
Durant missed Game 1 with a bruised right knee and was a game-time decision ahead of the second game.
How will Durant handle double teams in Game 3 on Friday (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video)? Durant indicated that he planned to take more shots and do a better job passing out of those double teams. Of those nine turnovers, five came when the Lakers had at least two defenders surrounding him. Four turnovers were in the fourth quarter.
“When two, three people are on me and I shoot, we can get an offensive rebound. … I’ve got to shoot more of those and put my teammates in better position,” he said, adding, “I’ve just got to be more aggressive and look to score no matter where the double team is coming.”
It would help Durant’s cause if the Rockets were better offensively. They have scored fewer than 100 points in both games, shooting 39% from the field and 29% on 3-pointers.
“We’re just not making shots to be honest,” Durant said. “We’re not shooting the ball well. We’re missing a lot of layups. I just think that’s the difference in the game. They’re making shots.
“We’ve played this team before, and they know the way for them to stay in the game is to play this type of defense. We’ve got to make them pay.”
If the Rockets shoot better, that would force the Lakers to make decisions. But until then, expect a steady stream of double teams on Durant.
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
