Some people may have felt the Los Angeles Lakers were fortunate to defeat the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series. Kevin Durant missed that contest due to a knee contusion, but he was cleared to play in Game 2, and it looked like the Rockets were in position to tie the series.
But perhaps people were underestimating the Lakers’ grit and resolve, two qualities they showed plenty of throughout Game 2 on Tuesday.
Los Angeles ended the first quarter with a 12-2 run and a 33-26 lead, but after it went up 49-34, Houston scored 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to cut the Lakers’ lead to 54-51 at halftime. From that point on, this game was a rock fight, and while both teams made mistakes and showed some deficiencies, the Lakers were able to outlast their competitors from the Lone Star State.
They did it not just with grit and resolve, but also with aggressive and sound defense. While Durant had a solid 23 points on 7-of-12 field-goal shooting, 20 of those points came in the first half. Afterward, he was just 1-of-5 from the floor, and on the night, he committed nine turnovers. The Lakers routinely sent a second defender at Durant on the perimeter, and his teammates didn’t pick up the slack.
It all resulted in a 101-94 victory for the Purple and Gold. While they got beaten on their defensive backboards again, they did a better job of limiting their turnovers. They held Houston to 40.4% overall shooting, while they made 13 of their 28 3-point attempts and 22 of their 28 free throw attempts.
With a 2-0 series lead, the Lakers suddenly seem to have a very good chance of winning this series. The Rockets will need to win both of the next two games in Texas just to tie the series, and home-court advantage usually is a big factor in Game 5 and Game 7.
Rui Hachimura: B
Hachimura found the right moments to assert himself and give the Lakers the complementary scoring punch they needed. He made half of his 10 shot attempts and six 3-point tries, giving him 13 points, and he also contributed five rebounds and two assists. On the other end, at times, he played good defense on Durant, both when Durant had the ball and when Durant was trying to get open without the ball. Hachimura’s ball-denial defense on the former MVP was certainly a factor in L.A.’s victory.
Deandre Ayton: C-plus
After a strong Game 1 performance, Ayton wasn’t much of a factor offensively on Tuesday. He took eight shots, but he made just three of them and never got to the free throw line, limiting him to six points in 27 minutes.
But he helped out in other ways. He had five rebounds, and once again, he played solid defense on Houston center Alperen Sengun. While Sengun had 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting, very little came easy for him when he was guarded by Ayton, especially in the paint. Ayton also did a nice job of contesting shots attempted by other Rockets players.
Luke Kennard: A
While Kennard’s production in Game 2 wasn’t as loud as it was in Game 1 when he scored 27 points, he was almost as effective and impactful.
He burst out of the gates again with 10 first-quarter points. Throughout the rest of the game, he picked his spots, but whenever he looked to attack off the dribble, good things tended to happen, as he was able to get to the basket or get good looks at mid-range jumpers.
He went 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown to score 23 points. Kennard also had six rebounds and two assists, and he even helped out on defense with three steals.
Marcus Smart: A
As well as a couple of his teammates played on Tuesday, Smart likely deserved the game ball for how well he performed in multiple areas.
He had two steals in the opening minutes, including one on Durant, to set the tone early. He led the Lakers with 14 first-quarter points, and at times, he guarded Durant and held his own fairly well against the future Hall of Famer. Smart had seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to keep L.A. ahead, and shortly afterward, he had a steal and then hit a cutting LeBron James for a dunk that put L.A. ahead 99-92 with less than a minute left.
The veteran guard finished with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting while hitting five of his seven 3-point attempts. His seven assists and five steals were pivotal, and he also chipped in two rebounds. At age 32, Smart remains every bit the glue and X-factor that he was for the Boston Celtics several years ago.
LeBron James: A-minus
James scored the Lakers’ first points of this game on a steal and breakaway layup with Durant in pursuit. He was more offensive-minded in this contest than he was in Game 1 — he scored 14 points in the first half and finished with 28 points, although he wasn’t very efficient. But he helped make up for shooting 8-of-20 from the field by going 10-of-14 from the free throw line. His 14 free throw attempts tied his season high in that category.
The 41-year-old was also aggressive on the boards and corralled eight rebounds, and he dished off seven assists while adding one steal. He looked to push the basketball and create pace pretty often in this game, but when Houston got its defense back, he did a good job of setting up the Lakers’ offense and keeping it under control.
Jaxson Hayes: B
In 21 minutes, Hayes brought some good energy, which allowed him to get four rebounds, block two shots and come up with one steal. His activity allowed him to draw fouls near the rim, and he went 4-of-5 from the foul line while making one of his two shot attempts to score six points.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C/C-plus
Vanderbilt was on the court for 14 minutes and went scoreless as a result of missing all three of his shot attempts. But he grabbed five rebounds and added one assist and one steal while playing with good energy.
Jake LaRavia: D
LaRavia scored six points on 1-of-3 shooting in Game 1, and he was even less effective in Game 2. On Tuesday, he took just two shots and went scoreless, and his only positive contributions were two rebounds and one block in 16 minutes. He went out of the game with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a hurt ankle, and he headed straight to the locker room.
It looks like LaRavia has very little confidence in his offense. As has often been the case this season, he looked to attack off the dribble and had the opportunity to shoot a mid-range jumper or a runner, but he turned down those opportunities. At one point in this game, he even airballed a 3-pointer he had a pretty good look at.
Bronny James: Incomplete
The younger James got three minutes of playing time in Game 2. He missed his only shot attempt and had no positive statistical contributions.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. defeats Rockets in Game 2 slugfest
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
