Kevin Durant is a 16-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and soon will pass Michael Jordan for fifth in career points. His credentials are unassailable.
So when Durant insisted upon shouldering the blame for the Houston Rockets’ fourth-quarter collapse against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, his culpability resonated.
After erasing a six-point third-quarter deficit and briefly seizing the lead in the fourth, the Rockets fell apart down the stretch of a 100-92 loss to the visiting Lakers in the first of their two-game set that concludes Wednesday in Houston.
The finale of the three-game season series serves as the tiebreaker between the Rockets and Lakers, who opened a 1 1/2-game lead over Houston for the third seed in the West.
The Rockets shot 4 of 16 and committed nine turnovers while scoring a paltry 12 points in the fourth quarter. Durant, facing a constant stream of double teams the moment he crossed midcourt, committed two of his game-high seven turnovers in the fourth to fuel the Lakers’ rally.
“I feel like I lost the game for us; it’s that simple,” said Durant, who scored 18 points but missed all three of his 3-pointers. “It’s on me, to be honest. I’m the offense. The opposing team is going to use all their resources to not let me get comfortable.
“I’ve got to be smarter, better with the ball. I’ve got to maybe shoot over some of those double teams. Space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in the dunker’s spot. Just being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide spacing. I didn’t need to have the ball as much as I did.”
To be fair, Houston played without All-Star center Alperen Sengun (back) for a second consecutive game and missed its assists leader. The Rockets have labored this season without a traditional point guard to run their offense, with the setback to the Lakers the latest glaring example of their roster imbalance following the offseason loss of Fred VanVleet to a torn ACL.
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ overreliance on Luka Doncic, who scored a game-high 36 points, didn’t net a decisive advantage. Their offense was rounded out by their ability to score in transition off contested shots defensively and via the Rockets’ avalanche of turnovers.
The Lakers recorded 16 fast-break points and, led by LeBron James, showcased an uncanny knack to convert in transition when presented the opportunity.
“LeBron does such a good job of filling the middle of the floor,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We emphasize running to the corners. We emphasize our throw-aheads. We’ve been really good in transition. I know we’re not a high-volume transition team, but we’ve been really good in transition when we throw the ball ahead.
“The numbers back that up, the winning backs that up. And LeBron, in particular, that’s one of the things we talked about last week, is just continue to be the best transition player in the NBA. It’s such a dynamic force for our offense.”
