In his debut with Houston on Tuesday, Kevin Durant blamed himself for the Rockets’ 125-124, double-overtime loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center, telling reporters that he made “two plays” that were “the reason we lost.”
— Kevin Durant blamed himself for a Houston Rockets debut gone awry Tuesday, as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder bested his new club 125-124 in double overtime at Paycom Center.
“I missed the free throws, and I fouled somebody at the end”, Durant said. “I think those two plays are the reason we lost.”
On the night Oklahoma City celebrated its NBA title with a ring ceremony and raised a championship banner to the rafters, Durant scored 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting and committed two crucial mistakes that he believes cost Houston the game before fouling out with 2.3 seconds remaining. The Rockets led 124-123 with 11 seconds left in the second overtime period when a pump fake by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lured Durant into his sixth foul, which sent the reigning MVP to the line to hit the winning free throws.
“Fouled Shai, put them up one”, Durant said. “I’ve got to stay down, be more disciplined [with] those opportunities to get a stop to seal the game.”
The play marked what Durant might consider the second squandered opportunity to walk out of a sold-out arena victorious. With 9.5 seconds left in regulation, Durant missed the first of two free throws with the Rockets leading 103-102. Durant connected on the second free throw to put Houston ahead by two points, but Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 16-footer with 2.
