Tim MacMahon Mar 17, 2026, 02:36 AM ET
HOUSTON — The Los Angeles Lakers’ defense late in Monday night’s potential playoff preview left Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant searching for solutions.
Los Angeles, which has been trying to carve out a defensive identity after a season of struggles, sent a steady diet of fourth-quarter double-teams at Durant. The tactic proved costly for the Rockets: nine turnovers and just 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the final frame, as the Lakers extended their winning streak to six with a 100-92 victory at the Toyota Center.
“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight,” Durant said. He finished with 18 points but scored only two in the second half and committed seven of Houston’s 24 turnovers. “It’s that simple. Of course we probably could make more 3s, but it’s on me. I mean, to be honest, I’m the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.
“First half, I got comfortable in iso, comfortable coming off of pindowns, pick-and-rolls, and they decided not to let me get comfortable no more. So I got to be smarter, better with the ball. I got to maybe shoot over some of them double-teams, but space out, be ready to catch and shoot, be ready to be a screener, just be in a dunker spot, just being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide space. I didn’t need to have the ball as much as I did tonight.”
The Lakers (43-25) increased their cushion over the Rockets (41-26) to 1½ games in the fight for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Houston, which hosts the Lakers again Wednesday, sits only a half-game ahead of Denver and Minnesota.
Houston has often struggled late when opponents force the ball out of Durant’s hands by sending a second defender at him at the top of the offense, prompting Durant to suggest he may need to “just get out of the way” and spot up in the corner to help space the floor.
Los Angeles’ defensive surge is a recent development. The Lakers rank 20th in defensive efficiency (115.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) for the season, but they’ve shown drastic improvement while winning nine of 10. In that stretch they have allowed 109.3 points per 100 possessions, sixth-best over that span.
A strong defensive effort was essential Monday, especially as the Lakers struggled offensively apart from Luka Dončić, who scored 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting. In the second half, Los Angeles held Houston to 35 points and forced 15 turnovers, overcoming the Lakers’ own three-point woes (8-of-34).
“It’s something that we’ve struggled with earlier in the season,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I think that shows the commitment that our guys have right now to that end of the floor, understanding we’re going to win with both sides of the ball. We won a lot of games with the offensive side of the ball, and we’ve shown, I think, now — whether it’s been the Knicks game, the Wolves game, this game — we can beat good teams with defense.”
Dončić, leaving a neighboring locker for the interview room, offered a sarcastic reply when asked about the key to the Lakers’ defensive success. “Luka locking that s— up!” he quipped, later attributing the improvement to “effort and communication.”
Rockets All-Star center Alperen Şengün sat out with lower-back pain, removing Houston’s second-leading scorer and simplifying the Lakers’ plan to double Durant. Los Angeles adjusted its approach in the second half, choosing to “fire” — sending the second defender once Durant began to dribble — rather than blitz him immediately, Redick said.
“He’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen play obviously, so you’ve just got to try to show him different looks, try to keep him off balance,” LeBron James said. James finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a few spectacular dunks to finish fast breaks. “And when he shoots, hope he misses. He don’t miss many shots. So I thought we did a good job of having a game plan, but also just switching up our pitches. Can’t show a great like that too many of the same coverages just throughout the whole game.”
Durant was 8-of-16 from the field but just 1-of-5 in the second half, when he committed six of his seven turnovers. He questioned whether Houston benefits from him being the primary ballhandler down the stretch, given how teams pinch the offense when he is doubled.
“I just feel like it just makes us stagnant,” Durant said. “When I come across half [court] and then they waited on me to drive, but I know they’re coming to double, so I wait a split second. I just think the whole process is too slow. And I just think that it’s all on me, because the team, when they see me, it just feels like one-on-five, to be honest. You know what I’m saying? Because I see two guys coming up out the corner to help at the elbows and guys at the boxes. It’s almost like a zone when I get the ball up top. When I try to post up anywhere, it’s going to be double-teams. So I’m just trying to find out ways to open myself up, open my teammates up.”
