Christian Braun Admits Nuggets 'Frustrated' Kevin Durant in Win vs Rockets

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is an NBA legend and one of the greatest to ever play, but the Denver Nuggets have seemed to have figured him out. In Wednesday's win over the Rockets, the Nuggets held Durant to a season-low 11 points with four rebounds, five assists, and three turnovers, as the superstar forward only got off eight shot attempts, knocking down five of them.

This is the second time this season that the Nuggets have held Durant to 13 points or fewer. In Wednesday's game, though, much of the credit goes to Nuggets guard Christian Braun and a great defensive scheme by head coach David Adelman. After the game, Braun talked about how the Nuggets shut down Durant.

"I think we did a good job as a team tonight. Guarding him [Kevin Durant], it's not going to be one person ever. He's a great player, and obviously, he scores at a really high level, so we did a good job of loading up on him. I think we frustrated him a little bit. All those guys did a really good job of helping me, so that is something we can do, and I think we did a really good job of playing as a team tonight on that end," Braun said.

Mar 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) controls the ball in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Durant gets shut down

Not many teams are able to hold Durant to just 11 points, but the Nuggets perfected their defense against the all-time great. As a team, the Nuggets held the Rockets to just 93 points, which ties Houston's second-lowest mark of the season.

Braun admits that the Nuggets "frustrated" Durant with their smothering defense, but the Rockets star still felt they were still able to generate good looks.

"We had more threes than them the majority of the game," Durant said after Wednesday's loss. "They were trapping, double-teaming, just trying to get the ball out of my hands. And we were getting layups. I feel like our offense was clicking outside of making wide-open shots. We generated good looks."

Of course, the Rockets had a poor offensive outing, shooting just 43% from the field and 12% from three-point range, but the Nuggets' defense deserves some credit. If Denver's defense can play like this more consistently, it will be much more dangerous heading into the playoffs.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic also commented on how they were able to slow down Durant, giving Braun some credit for how he handled the matchup.

"Just putting extra bodies, CB [Christian Braun] did a really good job. Just putting extra bodies and sending extra bodies and making him make a quick decision," Jokic said about their defense on Durant.

There is a chance the Nuggets could face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. After holding Durant to 11 points on Wednesday night to win the season series 3-1, they have the blueprint for how they could take them down in a seven-game playoff series. Of course, their defense will be key in any postseason matchup they have.