41 настай ахмад тоглогч Леброн Жеймс 28 оноо, 8 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, 7 дамжуулалт гүйцэтгэж, багаа манлайллаа. Тэрбээр тоглолт дуусахад 55 секунд дутуу байх үед Маркус Смартын дамжуулалтаар хүчтэй довтолгоо (dunk) гүйцэтгэсэн нь тоглолтын хувь заяаг шийдсэн чухал мөч байв.
Бэртлийн улмаас цувралын эхний тоглолтыг өнжсөн Кэвин Дурант энэ удаа талбайд эргэн ирсэн ч “Лэйкерс”-ийн хатуу хамгаалалтын эсрэг хүндхэн тоглолт үзүүлэв. Тэрбээр нийт 23 оноо авсны ердөө 3-ыг нь хоёрдугаар хагаст авсан бөгөөд 9 удаа бөмбөг алдсан нь түүний плэй-оффын карьер дахь хамгийн тааруу үзүүлэлтүүдийн нэг боллоо.
“Рокетс” багаас Алперен Шенгүн 20 оноо, 11 самбар авч сайн тоглосон ч багийн бусад тоглогчид шидэлтээ оновчтой болгож чадсангүй. Хьюстончууд тоглолтын турш ердөө 7 удаа холын зайн шидэлт (three-pointer) амжилттай болгосон нь тэдний довтолгоо хэрхэн гацсаныг илтгэж байна.
Лука Дончич, Остин Рийвс зэрэг гол тоглогчид нь бэртэлтэй байгаа “Лэйкерс”-ийн хувьд Маркус Смарт (25 оноо, 7 дамжуулалт) болон Люк Кеннард (23 оноо) нар тун чухал үүрэг гүйцэтгэлээ. Смарт тоглолтын эхний хагаст довтолгооныг эрчимжүүлж, хамгаалалтаараа Дурантад ихээхэн дарамт учруулсан юм.
Тоглолтын гол үзүүлэлтүүд:
- Леброн Жеймс: 28 оноо, 8 самбар, 7 дамжуулалт
- Маркус Смарт: 25 оноо, 7 дамжуулалт
- Кэвин Дурант: 23 оноо, 9 самбар, 9 бөмбөг алдалт
- Алперен Шенгүн: 20 оноо, 11 самбар
Цувралын дараагийн тоглолт энэ баасан гарагт Хьюстон хотноо болно. “Рокетс” талбайдаа ялалт байгуулж цувралыг эргүүлэх үү, эсвэл “Лэйкерс” давуу байдлаа хадгалах уу гэдэг нь сагсан бөмбөг сонирхогчдын анхаарлын төвд байна.
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In the first postseason meeting between LeBron James and Kevin Durant outside of the NBA Finals, James and the Los Angeles Lakers came out on top.
James scored 28 points — including 14 in the fourth quarter — to propel the Lakers to a 101-94 win over Durant and the Houston Rockets.
Durant scored 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half and finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Much like in Game 1, the Lakers never built a comfortable cushion, but they consistently kept the Rockets at arm’s length.
Game 3 is Friday in Houston.
Here are our immediate takeaways from Los Angeles
KD vs. LeBron in the playoffs? Yes, please
Even if James and Durant had become shadows of their former selves, hanging on in the late stages of their legendary careers, logging 15 minutes a night, it would have been fun to see them share the playoff stage again for the first time in eight years. But this was not that. Not even close.
All these years later, the 41-year-old James and 37-year-old Durant were still trading proverbial punches, still the most important players on their respective teams (with Luka Dončić out for the Lakers, of course). In that respect, it was just like the old days.
James finished with a team-high 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, including a wide-open dunk with 55 seconds left that put the Lakers up seven and all but sealed it. Durant, who missed Game 1 with a right knee injury suffered in practice, had a team-high 23 points, six rebounds and four assists, though he was limited to just three points in the second half and had nine turnovers for the game.
In another way, this matchup was entirely different from those that came before. This marked the first time James and Durant faced off in the postseason while playing in the same conference, with all 14 of their previous meetings coming during the finals. In 2012, James’ Miami Heat beat Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. In 2017 and 2018, Durant’s Warriors beat James’ Cavaliers in five and four, respectively. Durant still holds the overall lead, with a 9-6 record against James in the postseason. — Sam Amick, senior NBA writer
The Marcus Smart game
You can’t waste a Marcus Smart game.
Of all the Lakers most excited to play meaningful basketball, the veteran guard, who had previously been spending his post-Boston career in Memphis and Washington — has openly talked about wanting another shot at the playoffs.
With the Lakers struggling early in Game 2, Smart helped shift the tone. He stripped Durant and dove for a loose ball, then followed it with timely shooting, quickly pushing his fingerprint on the game.
It was the 110th playoff game of his career. He closed it with big shots, key free throws and a massive steal, finishing with 25 points, his highest playoff total since 2020. — Dan Woike, Lakers writer
Marcus Smart set the tone with 17 first-half points, hitting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. (Jayne Kamin / Oncea-Imagn Images)
Durant stalls
It’s almost impossible to envision Durant having more turnovers than points in a half, especially in a game his team desperately needs. But that’s exactly what happened in the second half of an atrocious Rockets’ Game 2 loss to the Lakers.
Durant, who returned to the court after missing Game 1 with a right knee contusion, had just three points and five turnovers after halftime as the Lakers frustrated him with relentless double-teams at the top of the key and complicated zones that took away his passing lanes.
The Rockets’ lack of outside shooting or any real counter to the Lakers’ defensive schemes — left the offense stuck for much of the night. The Rockets finished with 94 points, four fewer than they scored in Game 1 without Durant. Now they head back to Houston in an 0-2 hole, with pressure mounting on a team searching for answers. — Will Guillory, Rockets writer
Where have we seen this before?
Sure, Durant played. But this looked like a mirror image of Game 1. Behold:
- The Lakers scored 33 first-quarter points in both games. Luke Kennard went off early in Game 1; Marcus Smart did the same in Game 2 — with Amen Thompson guarding both times.
- The Lakers built double-digit first-half leads in both games, stretching it to 15 in Game 2.
- The Rockets responded with runs in each half, outscoring the Lakers in the middle eight minutes and cutting it to 54-51 by halftime after erasing a 15-point deficit.
- The Lakers again capitalized on Houston’s putrid shooting, scoring 75 points through three quarters while holding the Rockets under 70.
The Lakers didn’t manage to shoot 60 percent again. And Durant had a strong scoring first half. But Los Angeles still took advantage of nine Durant turnovers, a postseason career worst, while Houston’s 3-point shooting was even worse in Game 2 (7 of 29, 24.1 percent) than in Game 1 (11 of 33, 33.3 percent).
That’s two games where the Rockets needed decent shot-making to steal one on the road. Instead, the Lakers have shown that even with turnover issues, defensive rebounding lapses and a clear disadvantage in the paint, they have enough to win. With a 2-0 lead heading back to Houston, they know it. — Law Murray, NBA writer
