The Two Times LeBron James Made Kevin Durant Look Foolish in the Lakers’ Game 2 Win Over the Rockets

LeBron James got the best of Kevin Durant in the Lakers’ Game 2 win over the Rockets on Tuesday night. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LeBron James and Kevin Durant, two of the all-time greats, squared off once again in the NBA playoffs on Tuesday night, with James’s Lakers getting the best of Durant’s Rockets in a 101-94 win that gave Los Angeles a 2-0 series lead as it shifts to Houston for the next two games.

James had a vintage performance in the Game 2 victory, finishing with a game-high 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Not bad for the 41-year-old legend who has been forced to step up even more this postseason with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves currently out with injuries.

Durant, meanwhile, was back in the lineup after missing Game 1 with a knee injury. He finished with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also had a game-high nine turnovers.

James got the best of Durant a few times in Game 2 as he looked like a much younger version of himself and had the home crowd at Crypto.com Arena rocking.

Let’s break those down.

LeBron James made a statement early vs. Kevin Durant

Durant’s first turnover of the game was forced by James, who quickly made him pay for his mistake. Just over a minute into the first quarter, Durant threw a bit of a lazy pass to Alperen Şengün. James was able to take the ball away and then raced down the floor with a full head of steam. Durant tried his best to stop James but he didn’t stand a chance on this one.

Here’s that play, with James easily brushing Durant away before laying it in for his first points of the night.

LEBRON JAMES VS. KEVIN DURANT.
pic.twitter.com/bVyCnNQhtk

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 22, 2026

LeBron James later had a more memorable moment vs. Kevin Durant

As we stated above, James is 41-years-old. He’s also at the end of his 22nd year in the NBA. We say those two things because they make what he did on this play in the third quarter seem even more ridiculous.

With the Lakers up by three points in a tight game, James found himself with the ball at the top of the key. Durant was matched up with him defensively, but we use that term loosely because he didn’t do much to stop James on this one.

Instead, James got around with Durant with ease and then exploded for another iconic postseason dunk.

LEBRON DOING REVERSE WINDMILLS IN YEAR 23 🤯👑 pic.twitter.com/CEZi9WYko5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 22, 2026

Here’s another angle of that dunk:

LEBRON JUST DID WHAT???? pic.twitter.com/HgUDaxLujA

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 22, 2026

What LeBron James said after the win

James has been taking everything in this season, and now he seems to be really locked in for the postseason. He spoke about that after the game, saying he lives for this time of the year.

“I don’t know how many more opportunities I got to play in the postseason in my career,” James said. “But s---, I live for this moment. I live for the postseason. I’ve been doing this since I was 21. I think my first postseason game was 21, so 20 years. I know I’ve missed it a couple of times, but from that moment at 21, that first game, I made my mark and for 20 years I’ve been thinking about the postseason.”

“I don't know how many more opportunities I'll get to play in the postseason in my career. So … s—, I live for this moment. I live for the postseason.” - LeBron James pic.twitter.com/Ci91mfyqzu

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 22, 2026

What’s next for the Lakers-Rockets series

The Lakers lead the series 2-0 and will look to take a commanding lead with a win in Game 3, which will be played Friday night in Houston at 8 p.m. ET. Game 4 is Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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