The Lakers were challenged defensively by Kevin Durant. They haven't blinked

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Durant later assessed what a potential future playoff series against the Lakers could look like, assuming Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves would be in it. “Their only option to try and stop us is to double-team me at half court (as) soon as I get the ball,” Durant said last month. “This team is not a very great defensive team, but when you can give them opportunities to double and play a zone and not have to guard players — Luka, Reaves, a lot of people go at them. But when you can double-team and just play a zone behind, it makes their life a little bit easier, too. “We found some stuff, and this is the best version of their defense that they’re going to bring out against us. So, if we do play them again, we got film to watch and learn from. But this is pretty much the only option they can present to us to slow us down.” As fate would have it, the Rockets not only drew the Lakers for the Western Conference quarterfinals, but they also got them shorthanded. Dončić is out with a right hamstring strain, and Reaves is out with a left oblique strain. The Lakers have had to develop a way to play this month without two key starters. Durant missed Game 1 with a right knee contusion, and the Lakers held Alperen Şengün and the Rockets to 98 points on 37.6 percent shooting from the field. Durant suited up for Game 2 in an attempt to give the Rockets a needed boost, but the Lakers took a 2-0 series lead while holding the Rockets to 94 points on 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Durant got off to a strong start with 20 first-half points, but he was held to only 1-of-5 shooting from the field in the second half. Most notably, the Lakers’ defense terrorized Durant from the very beginning, with LeBron James picking Durant on the second possession of the game as one of nine Durant turnovers. There’s never been another game in Durant’s 171 career postseason games with more turnovers — and eight of those giveaways came via Lakers steals. It seemed like the option the Lakers presented to Durant’s Rockets worked tremendously to slow them down. “They started doubling me from possession one, man,” Durant lamented Tuesday night. “I think I gotta be better at not putting my teammates in bad positions when I swing that ball. Sometimes, I can beat the double, get downhill and make the shot a little easier for them. I mean, two to three people on me, I shoot the ball, we can get an offensive rebound. So, I’m trying to make passes. I’m trying to create, swing the ball sometimes. But, you know, I feel like I gotta shoot more of those and put my teammates in a better position.” It isn’t just the double-teams that the Lakers deploy. The Lakers have little respect for the ancillary Rockets, and they’re able to consistently cloud passing lanes. This was Durant’s final turnover, with a little more than a minute left in a game and the Lakers up by five. All five Lakers defenders are in the paint following a Durant handoff going left from Şengün. Marcus Smart trailed Durant, while Rui Hachimura practically ignored Şengün to focus on a possible contest of a Durant midrange attempt. Jaxson Hayes was on the strong side, with no reason to fear Amen Thompson in the corner. Jabari Smith Jr. was in the weakside corner, with Luke Kennard prepared to sprint to a closeout if Durant could even see through the arms of the Lakers. Tari Eason cut through to the dunker spot while being guarded by James, but again, James was more focused on Durant’s decision. That would be the correct inclination, because Durant left his feet, choosing to pass to Şengün inside, and Smart stole the pass. That miscue mirrored Durant’s lone turnover from a third quarter in which he also missed his only field-goal attempt. This time, Durant was going left off a Şengün screen. Once again, Durant was the primary focus. Hayes left Şengün’s roll to contest a potential Durant pull-up. Hachimura left Jae’Sean Tate entirely, while Smart took advantage of Eason’s spacing to play in between Tate and Eason. Kennard wandered from shooter Reed Sheppard once Durant advanced towards the basket with the shot clock draining. When Durant aborted a shot attempt for an ill-fated pass intended for Şengün, Kennard collected the first of his three steals. Hachimura outraced Sheppard and the rest of the Rockets to complete an alley-oop from Kennard. “We’re just getting this thing started,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of his team’s defense when I asked about Durant’s comments last month. “He’s the type of player that can take over a series. Just have to continue to have a great team defense and great activity.” Make no mistake, though, there were the double-teams on Durant — and that’s when the Lakers’ denials of Durant from 30 feet away from the basket didn’t work to keep the ball out of Durant’s hands. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rockets had Şengün marooned at the scorers table while Smart left Eason to double Durant. As Rockets head coach Ime Udoka barked instructions to Eason, Durant was helpless with no outlets, no live dribble, no interior threat, only one shooter (Smith) and futile spacing while sharing the floor with Thompson and Josh Okogie. Smart was able to separate Durant from the ball like a blindside pass rusher. The Lakers’ defense allowed 110.6 points per 100 possessions with Dončić and Reaves on the floor in 466 minutes before the All-Star break. It improved to 108.8 points per 100 possessions with Dončić and Reaves on the floor in 626 minutes after the break. The Lakers allowed only 104.3 points per 100 possessions in Game 1, 105.6 in Game 2. Şengün has been held to 39 points on 39 shots while shooting 39.5 percent from the field, including only 7-for-28 from the field when defended by Hayes or Deandre Ayton. And though the Rockets are staying true to their reputation by winning the possession battle via 38 offensive rebounds and 44 second-chance points, they have missed 10 of 14 midrange field goals, while also struggling to get to the line at a decent rate or make their 3-pointers (18 of 62, 29 percent). After Durant’s turnovers in Game 2 — which produced three of Smart’s five steals — Smart was careful to follow Redick’s lead not to give Durant any bulletin-board material. But Smart was pleased that the Lakers had executed defensively against the Rockets for four straight games, including both playoff games. “I think it gives anybody confidence, you know, when you’re able to go up against one of the greatest scorers in this game,” said Smart, the primary assignment on Durant. “For him to say that, to have that type of view about you, opinion about you … that just speaks volumes. Not just (about) me, but this team and the things that we put in every day to help each other out and to make sure we’re locked in and go out there and make it tough as possible for him.” The Lakers protected their home court with defense and by eliminating Şengün inside, making Durant turnover-prone and benefiting from harmless Rockets role players. The next step for the Lakers is to see if the defense travels to Houston. If it does for Game 3, then they could be playing for a sweep this weekend. If it shows up for Game 4, then the Lakers will have three chances to close the Rockets out with home-court advantage. Either way, while the Lakers have shown they have more to offer Durant, they are still wary because he’s still Kevin Durant. “Zero, none,” James said when asked about the level of satisfaction of holding Durant to three second-half points in Game 2. “It’s just going to make him even madder going into Game 3. No satisfaction.” Spot the pattern. 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