Lakers Expose Rockets’ Biggest Weakness As Kevin Durant Takes Ownership for Late-Game Collapse

Kevin Durant didn’t hesitate to shoulder blame for the Rockets’ Monday night loss to the Lakers.

Houston fell to Los Angeles at the Toyota Center, 100–92, in a key matchup for playoff seeding. The Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets and Timberwolves are all within two games of each other in the West standings. Houston had an opportunity to carve out some breathing room when L.A. came to town. Instead the Rockets lost—and in ugly fashion. The home side scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter while committing nine turnovers as the Lakers hounded Durant relentlessly.

Upon stepping in front of reporters after the defeat, KD was quick to own up to his role in the loss; he finished with 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting with seven turnovers.

“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight," said Durant via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “It's that simple. Of course we probably could make more threes, 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.”

While Durant certainly feels he could have done things differently, it is worthwhile to give credit where credit is due: Los Angeles completely locked down defensively in the second half. KD had 16 points in the first two quarters but managed only two more points over the rest of the game. He was at the center of JJ Redick’s defensive gameplan and the Lakers executed it beautifully. It was a job made easier by the absence of All-Star center Alperen Şengün, to be sure. But even with that context it’s hard to view Monday night’s contest as anything other than an abject failure offensively for the Rockets; they scored four points in the last six minutes of the game.

It’s not on Durant alone to provide answers but neither he nor Ime Udoka’s coaching staff had any adjustments to offer down the stretch. By the last few minutes, Durant was indecisive and seemed like he had no idea what to do in the face of the L.A. defense.

Here is every single Rockets half-court possession in the clutch.

Please watch the different coverages on KD and his reactions. https://t.co/nhipdqvQrG pic.twitter.com/ITsR5garl5
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 17, 2026

It’s a deeply concerning defeat for the Rockets. Nobody is eager to overreact to a loss in March, but to have the offense completely sputter out like that in an important game is worrying. It’s even more concerning when you consider the Lakers’ roster is not exactly filled with elite defenders, but they committed to Redick’s strategy and it worked to perfection.

Durant’s willingness to take ownership for playing poorly is better than the alternative for the Rockets. But the cracks in their title case run far deeper than a bad night by KD.

Rockets’ biggest weakness was exposed by Lakers

In Durant’s media availability, there was one very telliing line that reflected Houston’s biggest weakness as a playoff contender—a weakness Los Angeles took full advantage of.

“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,” Durant said.

That, right there, is the issue: Durant really is the entire offense. The Rockets cannot score at a competitive level without him. That conclusion definitely passes the eye test, and the advanced stats back it up. In 777 minutes without KD this season the Rockets own an offensive rating of 114.1 per 100 possessions, per PBP Stats, which would rank 19th in the NBA across a full season. Houston has no real offensive creators at this stage—Reed Sheppard is coming along, but still too diminutive at point guard to do much if he isn’t making three-point shots, while (inversely) Amen Thompson’s complete lack of a shooting threat neuters his extraordinary athleticism. The rest of the rotation largely consists of one-trick ponies who must be fed scoring opportunities.

The one exception is Şengün. The center is averaging 20.2 points per game on 50% shooting from the floor this season and he has done a great job keeping the offense humming when Durant isn’t on the floor; Houston boasts an offensive rating of 119.9 in 456 minutes with Şengün on the court and KD off the court. The two have also found great success playing together, with an offensive rating of 118.3 per 100 possessions in more than 1,000 minutes. Şengün’s presence would’ve helped on Monday night when the Lakers sold out completely to shut down KD.

But what we saw in the last five or so minutes Monday night is reflective of how the entire season has gone in Houston, regardless of whether Şengün is out on the court. As a team Houston is 18–19 in “clutch” games (defined by the NBA as games where the score is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining) and barely shoots over 40% from the floor in such situations. Furthermore, Şengün and Durant have played 84 minutes in “high leverage” situations (similar to the NBA’s “clutch” definition) this season, according to PBP Stats. In those minutes, the duo has led the Rockets to a putrid 108.2 offensive rating and a net rating of -14.3.

So it’s not just the lack of scoring punch outside Durant. It’s late-game execution when everything is on the line. Udoka’s teams tend to share this trait given the Celtics suffered the exact same problem when he was in charge in Boston. It doesn’t matter who’s on the court—the Rockets struggle mightily when the score is close and whether they win is a coin flip. That sure feels like a big problem heading into the playoffs when fourth quarter execution is often what determines who wins and who goes home.

The Lakers had an easier job of it on Monday night without Şengün on the floor, but the weak spot they exposed has been present all season. The Rockets are running out of time to figure it out.

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