The Rockets punched the Knicks in the mouth tonight from the onset of their game at Houston’s Toyota Center and ended up winning 111-94. This was a much-needed win for Kevin Durant and the Rockets to cap off a three-game win streak since the team has been struggling to find its identity recently.
Durant dropped 27 points to lead all scorers despite aggressive matchups with Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and the Knicks’ other key defenders. He had six rebounds and eight assists to go with that, while going 10-18 from the field (55.6 FG%) and 4-7 from beyond the three-point line.
At the postgame press conference, Durant was asked about how he tackles such aggressive defenses with ease.
“Just being aggressive when I run for the ball. Just know that when I catch the ball, these guys get a little nervous. So keeping the ball away from me is the best way for some of these guys to guard me,” said Durant.
“So being more physical, slowing down, being more patient, letting my teammates screen for me. And once I get the ball, they’re at my mercy,” the 37-year-old added.
“I just try to slow down, sometimes I play too fast, and I run to the ball too quickly. But if I play at my pace, slow down and use my physicality, then they’re at my mercy,” Durant concluded with a bold statement.
Durant recently surpassed Michael Jordan for fifth on the all-time scoring list of the NBA. Despite being a permanent feature on his opponents’ scouting report, his records show that often, defenses have no answer for him, and his overconfidence is warranted.
The 37-year-old criticized himself for not trusting his teammates more when he got swarmed by defenses and double-teams when they lost to the Lakers.
Just two weeks later, the Rockets pull off this performance against a potential championship-contender like the Knicks to prove they have laid the building blocks to finding better team chemistry and momentum while heading into the playoffs. A positive sign for the Rockets.
Durant also had a back-and-forth with the Knicks bench throughout the game and spoke about it at the press conference.
“The Knicks bench, they got a lot of energy. That’s why their starting five feeds off of them so much throughout the season. You can just see it from the TV that they are supportive guys.”
“[Yelling] ‘Good defense!’ when I missed a shot, and it wasn’t good defense, it was all me missing the shot. Sochan is a great teammate, always pumping his guys up all the time. I enjoyed the back and forth with the bench; it brings out the best in me.”
“So yeah, when I hit the shot, and they started talking, I definitely gave them a look. But it’s all in fun, it’s all a part of the game, and I respect that team.”
The Rockets have improved to 46-29 and are tied with the Timberwolves for the sixth and fifth seed, respectively. After a shocking overtime loss for the Rockets in their last matchup, the tiebreaker between these two teams will now be settled on April 10 when they meet in Houston. For now, the Rockets are set to host the Bucks tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, the Knicks have fallen to 48-28 and are now on a three-game losing streak. The NBA Cup champions seem to have lost momentum somewhere and are now headed to Memphis in hopes of ending this losing streak tomorrow night against the Grizzlies.
