Kevin Durant Diagnoses Rockets’ Late-Game Issues After Fourth Quarter Collapse at Knicks

At 34–21, the Rockets are in solid playoff position, but well shy of the Western Conference’s truly elite teams, with eight games between them and the first-place Thunder (43–14).

That story could be much different if Houston was more adept at closing out games—a fact that reared its ugly head for the Rockets at Madison Square Garden last night, when they blew a 16-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter to fall to the Knicks, 108–106.

Of their 21 losses, 16 have come in “clutch” situations, defined by the NBA as games within five points in the final five minutes. Star forward Kevin Durant, who was 2-for-7 for five points with a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter, acknowledged those struggles after the loss. He believes the team’s offense stops playing with the same tempo, focus and defensive tenacity down the stretch.

“In a lot of our games when we’re up 10, 12, 14, we just give it away because we don’t play with that dominant trait,” Durant said, per The Athletic. “I thought, in the first three quarters, we played with more pace. In the fourth quarter, we were just stagnant to start. It gave them momentum. We were giving up layups and turnovers. I just think we relaxed a bit coming into the fourth quarter.”

Durant got off to a strong start, scoring 25 points on 19 shots through the first three quarters, before his own late struggles dovetailed with those of his team. He hit a big three in the game’s final seconds to cut New York’s lead to 107–106, but had a pair of turnovers, two fouls and two missed jumpers—including a long last-second heave—in the final two minutes.

Houston is now 14–16 in clutch games, the 20th-best mark in the NBA. Of teams considered realistic NBA Finals contenders, only the Celtics (12–14) have a worse winning percentage in those moments.

“It’s a lesson learned. Something we can keep growing from,” Durant said. “It’s a vital time for us to keep growing and keep getting better.”

The Rockets are just 3–4 in their last seven games, but they are about to hit a significant lull in the schedule which should help them stack some wins. Houston hosts the lowly Jazz on Monday before games against the Kings, Magic, Heat, Wizards, Warriors and Trail Blazers. Their next game against a top playoff contender doesn’t come March 8, when they make a trip to face the Spurs.

That is a fair amount of time for the Rockets to take in the lessons from Saturday’s loss to the Knicks—and so many other close, late games that have gone the same way.

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