LeBron James reveals NBA injury struggle and how LA stopped ‘great’ Durant

LeBron James feels the Los Angeles Lakers have “buckled down” defensively after earning a sixth straight win by beating the Houston Rockets 100–92 at the Toyota Center to extend their advantage over their opponents for the third seed in the Western Conference.

In a game featuring 13 lead changes, Houston led 57–51 at half-time but were outscored 32–23 in the third quarter and registered only 12 points during the final period, in which the Rockets committed nine of their 24 turnovers.

“We didn’t let [Houston] speed us up,” said James, who had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. “They’re very physical.

“It’s kind of like play-off basketball… two play-off teams just figuring out how to get a bucket, but also trying to stay focused and locked in on both sides of the floor. You can’t just rely on the offensive end.”

LeBron James analysis: How Lakers denied Durant

While the Lakers finished on 8-of-34 3-point shooting, Luka Doncic’s 36-point haul proved pivotal alongside a late corner three-pointer from Marcus Smart – set up by James – to put the Lakers 94–90 ahead with two minutes remaining.

Deandre Ayton then secured the win with back-to-back baskets to stretch the lead to eight, with Kevin Durant restricted to 18 points for the Rockets.

“He’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen play,” James said of Durant, a two-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors.

“[You’ve] just got to try to show him different looks, trying to keep him off balance and, when he shoots, hoping he misses.

“We did a good job of having a game plan, but also just switching up our pitches. You can’t show a great like that too many of the same coverages throughout the whole game. He’ll get a feel for it.”

Kevin Durant: Rockets defeat vs Lakers ‘on me’

Durant acknowledged that the Lakers had “decided not to let me get comfortable no more” during the second half.

“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight,” he added. “We probably could have made more 3s, but it’s on me.

“I’m the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.

“I’ve got to be smarter, better with the ball. I’ve 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, being able to be there as a resource for my teammates to provide space.”

James had shown off a scraped knee he sustained while diving for a loose ball during the Lakers’ late win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, and the basketball icon said he had faced a scramble to ready to take on the Rockets.

“I didn’t even show you the one on my hip, by the way,” he jibed. “I wasn’t going to post that. That’s too much.

“We had to get on the plane the next day, so I was pretty banged up on the flight coming here and last night.

“But I got a about nine-and-a-half hours of sleep and woke up and felt a lot better. I was able to get some rehab and treatment and activation going.

“It allowed me to to to play, but I definitely was around the clock with it.”

NBA results: Hawks beat Magic, Celtics see off Suns

Other results in the NBA on Tuesday included another win for the Atlanta Hawks, who are on a 10-match winning streak.

What’s next in the NBA? Fixtures, schedule

The NBA action resumes with eight matches on Tuesday. The Lakers and Rockets meet again the following day.