LeBron James beats Kevin Durant, but Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard bring the Lakers 2-0 over the Rockets
LOS ANGELES- Kevin Durant was back for the Rockets. This made the headline bout “LeBron James vs. Durant,” a showdown between two of the all-time greats.
LeBron’s victory in that showdown is not why the Lakers are ahead 2-0 in their series with the Rockets. It’s because of their defense, which forced nine Durant turnovers. And that’s because the Lakers have Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard. That starting backcourt — forced into action by injuries that sidelined Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — combined for 48 points Tuesday night, made huge defensive plays and 3-pointers, which proved to be the difference.
The Lakers’ defense held Durant to three points in the second half and held on for a 101-94 win that saw them hold serve on their home court. The Lakers are ahead 2-0 as the series heads to Houston on Friday night.
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LeBron earned his share of the spotlight, finishing the night with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He also had a reverse dunk at age 41.
“I don’t even know what that was about,” LeBron said after the game, shaking his head.
The biggest difference in this series through two games is that while both teams are missing key starters — the Rockets have been without point guard Fred VanVleet all season and also don’t have center Steven Adams — it’s the Lakers who have had players step up and fill the roles of their missing stars. LeBron had nothing but praise for Smart and Kennard.
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“He’s battle-tested,” LeBron said of Smart. “Guy has been to the Finals, he’s been in a lot of playoff games, big games in his career. So obviously he’s not afraid of the moment and he’s always had some of the best players to ever play this game in their career. So having someone like that brings a lot of composure to our team.”
Smart finished with 25 points, seven assists and five steals, most against Kevin Durant, who he guarded for much of the night. Kennard finished with 23 points and six rebounds, but did much more as a playmaker and passer.
“He’s a sniper, we understand that, but he does so much more than that,” LeBron said of Kennard. “He does so much more and I think that’s what throws defenses off balance. Sometimes you fall into the fact that he shoots 50% from 3 and you think sometimes that’s all he can do, but he’s so much more.”
Durant scored 20 points in the first half, but in the second the Lakers threw multiple bodies and different looks at the future Hall of Famer, trying to take the ball out of his hands. It worked, Durant only scored three points in the second 24 minutes and had nine turnovers in the game.
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“I felt good. I’m happy to be back out there in high-pressure moments. But yeah, bad game for me,” Durant said.
No one else on the Rockets has come forward. Alperen Sengun had a good game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but that doesn’t tell the story of his struggles: He missed rabbits all night and finished 9 of 19 in the paint. The Lakers double-teamed Sengun when he had the ball in the post and he blocked, which shut down much of the way the Rockets wanted to score in the half-court.
The Lakers’ defense also doesn’t fear the Rockets’ ball handlers or shooters, and Houston doesn’t make them pay for it. As a team, the Rockets shot just 24.1% from 3 — Houston has to hope that home cooking improves their shooting and changes the dynamic in which their role players get beat.
“I thought our guys at least matched their sense of desperation, or second tries, or multiple efforts, all that stuff,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, you have to win a lot of little fights. This could be your offensive positioning, it could be your screens, it could be creating separation, it could be boxing. But this team requires you to win a lot of little fights.”
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The Lakers only need to win two more games to win the big battle. The Rockets need to show some fight at home, otherwise this will be a short series.