All eyes will be on the great Kevin Durant when his visiting Houston Rockets seek to square the ledger against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series Tuesday.
Durant was unable to play Saturday’s first-round series opener after accidentally bumping knees with a teammate at practice three days earlier.
The 16-time All-Star attempted to warm up a few hours before tipoff, but he ultimately didn’t feel his right knee was good enough to play.
Durant led Houston with an average of 26 points per game this season and is No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time leading scorers list.
In his absence, the fifth-seeded Rockets struggled offensively in a 107-98 loss to the Lakers in Game 1.
Houston had 27 more shot attempts but misfired badly, connecting at 37.6% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 68% from the free-throw line.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka didn’t hesitate when asked about the qualities that Durant brings to the table, which were sorely lacking Saturday.
“Efficiency and consistent scoring,” Udoka said. “On a nightly basis, he (Durant) shoots at a good, high clip. He doesn’t have too many nights like this (Houston in Game 1), struggling-wise. With all the young guys, he kind of calms you down … Regardless, if he’s back or not, if we’re shooting that poorly, it’s going to be tough to win.”
Alperen Sengun led the Durant-less Rockets with 19 points. Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard added 17 apiece, and Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason both had 16.
Durant is expected to be fit to take his place as the Rockets endeavor to overcome their 1-0 deficit, but the Lakers showed they are able to adapt whether or not Houston’s main man is on the court.
“I don’t think it (Durant not playing Game 1) affected our mentality,” Los Angeles coach JJ Redick said. “This is all we’ve talked about for two months, is our playoff mentality. You can’t worry about who’s in or out of a line-up. It’s our gameplan, it’s our standard, it’s how we play and we’ve built towards that.”
That standard saw the Lakers shoot a sizzling 60.6% from the floor, including 52.6% from deep. The star was Luke Kennard, who produced a playoff career-high 27 points and went 5-of-5 from three.
Thompson admits the Rockets should have been more dialed in on Kennard, a key reserve and the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter, who the Lakers acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in February.
“Just respect other players,” Thompson said when asked where his team can improve. “I knew what Kennard could do. But I’ve got to be more locked in for it — locked in for that match-up.”
LeBron James posted 19 points and 13 assists, while Deandre Ayton paired 19 points with 11 boards for Los Angeles.
The Lakers are without their two leading scorers — Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique strain) — which means greater production is required from more sources.
“We don’t have a choice,” said James, who is participating in his 19th postseason. “It has to be that way — it has to be the collective group. When you’re missing so much firepower like we are right now with AR and Luka being out, we all have to pitch in. We all have to do our job, and even do a little bit more.”
