The Rockets suffered a surprising 94-101 loss in Game 2 to the Lakers tonight despite having Kevin Durant available to play tonight. The Lakers’ head coach, JJ Redick, and LeBron James both spoke to the media after the game and addressed how they expect Durant to respond in Game 3 after having a postseason career-high of nine turnovers tonight and just four shots in the second half.
Both of them hinted that the Lakers should not take their foot off the gas pedal simply due to Kevin Durant’s struggles in Game 2. If anything, they should be worried about Game 3 since Durant is a player who is capable of taking over the series.
“We’re just getting this thing started, and he’s the type of player that can take over a series. Just have to continue to have a great team defense and great activity,” said Redick on how the Lakers approached Durant tonight and will continue to do so going forward in this series.
Reporters asked LeBron James if he had any satisfaction in holding Durant to just three points in the second half. The 41-year-old responded with a warning for his team about the Rockets star’s response.
“None. That just makes him even madder going into Game 3. No satisfaction… The guy’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he’s gonna make way more great plays than not,” said James.
“We don’t have any satisfaction. That game is over and done with, but it’s still a tall challenge, seven-foot-tall, too… He hates that. He might be mad at me if he sees that. He wants to be six feet nine inches or six feet ten inches so bad, but he’s seven feet for sure,” James further added in a quip about Durant’s height while reminding his teammates how lethal Durant can be on his best days.
There is a reason why Kevin Durant is fifth on the list of all-time scorers in the NBA. Durant ended the game with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal. He shot 7-12 from the floor (58.3 FG%), but do not let those numbers mislead you.
The 37-year-old would love to remove this game from the history books if he had the choice, as he recorded his postseason career-worst in turnovers tonight, which arguably were key in the Rockets’ loss tonight.
The Lakers have now taken a resounding 2-0 lead over the Rockets in this series and are now headed to Houston to face them in Game 3 on the road. Games 3 and 4 of this series are scheduled for Friday, April 24, and Sunday, April 26. The team in purple and gold will have to win one of those games to be comfortable in the driving seat of this series. Until then, the pendulum that is this series could swing both ways.
