Rockets Durant pins season-opening loss on himself as Rockets fall
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant blamed himself for the Houston Rockets’ poor performance on Tuesday, as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder defeated his new club 125-124 in double overtime at the Paycom Center.
“I missed a free throw and fouled someone at the end. I think those two moves cost us the game,” Durant said.
On the night Oklahoma City celebrated its NBA title with a ring ceremony and hoisted the championship banner from the rafters, Durant scored 23 points on 9 of 16 shots and made two crucial errors that he believes cost Houston the game. Durant then fouled out with 2.3 seconds left in the game.
With 11 seconds left in the second overtime period, with the Rockets leading 124-123, a pump fake by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander forced Durant to commit his sixth foul, forcing the reigning MVP to the line to hit the winning free throw.
“I fouled Shai, which cost him a point,” Durant said. “I have to stay calm, be more disciplined, and stop these chances to win the game.”
It was Durant’s second missed opportunity of the game, which he could have relied on to secure a victory in front of a packed stadium. With 9.5 seconds left in regulation, Durant missed the first of two free throws, putting the Rockets ahead 103-102. He made the second free throw to give Houston a two-point lead, but Gilgeous-Alexander sent the game into overtime with 2.6 minutes remaining.
The first overtime also proved disastrous for Durant and the Rockets. The 37-year-old swingman snatched a rebound with 2.2 seconds remaining and signaled a timeout, which Houston didn’t have as his teammate Alperen Sengun rushed to stop him. The crowd of 18,203 booed after the match. According to crew chief Zack Zerba, the post-match pool report revealed that the referees didn’t whistle Durant for a technical foul because no game official saw him signal a timeout.
Gilgeous-Alexander said of Durant, “I think he took about three timeouts—verbally, physically, and with his hands.” “I think the referees just missed it, but that’s life. In life, you make mistakes and move on. There’s nothing strange about it. He didn’t do it intentionally. That’s life. You miss things. You make mistakes. You move on.”
Despite the poor start, Durant showed a glimpse of what Houston’s offensive game could be like once the Rockets addressed some of their shortcomings. Durant made 5 of 6 2-point jumpers, a feat for a team that only once last season saw a player make five or more 2-point jump shots in a game. According to GeniusIQ, all of Durant’s 2-point field goals came within the final eight seconds of the shot clock, tying his most 2-point field goals in a game since 2013-14, when player tracking began.
With the shot clock dwindling, Houston needed a solid start, and they turned to Durant.
“He’s making our job easier,” Sengun said. “[And] with time, we’ll get better together.”
Durant dominated the offense, led primarily by Sengun, who made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 39 points, along with 11 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
“It’s incredible,” Durant said of Sengun’s performance. “We need as much as possible from him. Downhill, making plays. He also had a lot of space up top where he likes to play. So, now he has to get used to that much space. So, he hit his three-pointers well with confidence. We’ll need that going forward.”
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