Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant had a night to forget during Monday’s 100-92 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, as he was hounded defensively down the stretch with little help from his supporting cast.
After the ugly defeat, the 16-time All-Star delivered a blunt assessment of why Houston wasn’t “able to handle” LA’s late-game defensive pressure.
Kevin Durant Takes Full Blame for Rockets’ Offensive Letdown vs. Lakers
With the contest and a chance to secure the Western Conference’s third seed up for grabs, Houston withered when it mattered most, mustering only 12 fourth-quarter points, including just four points over the final six minutes as it was outscored 15-4 after taking an 88-85-lead.
Durant was repeatedly double-teamed and pressured near midcourt, with the Lakers giving him little breathing room to jumpstart the Rockets’ stagnant offense. The 37-year-old ultimately mustered just two points in the final frame, finishing with a relatively modest 18 points by his lofty standards, half of Lakers superstar Luka Dončić’s game-high 36-point total.
Meanwhile, Durant tallied 7 turnovers, nearly matching his number of made field goals (8), as Houston suffered its fifth loss in nine outings.
Here is every single Rockets half-court possession in the clutch.
Please watch the different coverages on KD and his reactions. https://t.co/nhipdqvQrG pic.twitter.com/ITsR5garl5
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 17, 2026
During his postgame interview, Durant didn’t mince words about the Rockets’ shortcomings. After acknowledging that he and his teammates missed makeable shots, going just 5-for-26 from 3-point range (19.2%), he added that the onus falls on him to execute better in crunch time as his squad’s primary scoring option.
“I just feel like I lost the game for us tonight. It’s that simple,” Durant said. “We probably could have made more 3s, but it’s all on me. To be honest, I’m the offense, and the opposing team is going to use all their resources to not let me get comfortable.”
KD on being the offense: pic.twitter.com/IePJgkUk5F
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 17, 2026
The two-time NBA champion then vowed to be “better” moving forward by making higher-IQ decisions for his playmaking-needy team.
“I gotta be smarter, better with the ball, maybe shoot over some of them double-teams, but like I said, space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in the dunker spot, just being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide spacing,” Durant shared. “I didn’t need to have the ball as much as I did tonight.”
Durant won’t have to wait long for a chance for revenge against Dončić and Co., as the Rockets (41-26) and Lakers (43-25) will rematch on Wednesday in Houston, with the edge in their three-game season series on the line.
