Rockets' Kevin Durant Trolls Lakers From Bench During Game 4 Victory

Kevin Durant was unable to go in Game 4, but still made his presence known.

Apr 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) looks on from the court in the second half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers held a 3-0 lead over the Houston Rockets and were in prime position to deliver the finishing blow in Game 4 on Sunday. The Rockets were compromised without Kevin Durant.

The Lakers have also been compromised, to be fair, without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Lakers have been red hot from outside through the first three games.

Durant's status through the rest of the series is in limbo, due to the nature of his injury. Durant suffered a ankle sprain and bone bruise, which usually takes several weeks to heal. 

Durant was absent from the Rockets' bench during Game 3, prompting a myriad of theories from conspiracy theorists and/or internet sleuths. Rockets coach Ime Udoka shut down those theories and told the media that Durant was getting treatment during the game, as Durant was reportedly getting treatment on the underwater treadmill throughout the game.

In Game 4, Durant joined the Rockets on the bench and was cheering the team on, as he did in Game 1, when he missed the game due to a different injury (a knee contusion suffered in practice, several days leading upto Game 1 of the series).

In the third quarter, Durant decided to partake when Lakers center Deandre Ayton got ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul. Durant waved Ayton a farewell goodbye from the Rockets' bench.

😂 pic.twitter.com/a4aG7G1bFN

— Rockets Clips (@Rockets_Clips) April 27, 2026

The play was easily the most widely discussed moments from the game, as the basketball community was in disagreement over Ayton's ejection. To many, the contact was incidental and not warranting an ejection or a Flagrant 2 foul call. There's merit to that school of thought, as we've certainly seen more severe and significant contact.

Others thought the contact was incidental. Ayton's elbow made contact with Sengun's head and he appeared to lead with the elbow. Udoka didn't mince words when asked about the play, making it clear that he felt the contact was intentional. 

"It looked intentional. But I was surprised it was a flagrant 2. But that's the NBA nowadays, and they call it a little softer than they used to."

Sengun seemed to agree with the latter half of Udoka’s take on the punishment. 

"I don’t wanna make the officials (look) crazy, but I didn’t expect him to be ejected. I thought it was a little bit soft."

The Rockets will take on the Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles, with a high likelihood that Reaves returns for the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers held a 3-0 lead over the Houston Rockets and were in prime position to deliver the finishing blow in Game 4 on Sunday. The Rockets were compromised without Kevin Durant.