Durant shoulders blame for Opening Night loss to Thunder
Kevin Durant put the blame for Tuesday's 125-124 season-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on his own shoulders.
"I missed the free throws, and I fouled somebody at the end," Durant said, according to ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "I think those two plays are the reason we lost."
Durant netted 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting in his Rockets debut. However, the future Hall of Famer believes two of his mistakes ultimately cost Houston the game.
The 15-time All-Star missed a free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Making both of his free throws would have given the Rockets a three-point lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied the game on the Thunder's next possession, pushing the matchup into overtime. In the second overtime, with Houston leading 124-123 and 2.3 seconds remaining, Gilgeous-Alexander baited Durant into committing his sixth foul, and the reigning MVP hit two game-winning free throws.
"I gotta be better. I gotta knock that free throw down," Durant said, per the Houston Chronicle's Danielle Lerner. "I gotta stay down, be more disciplined. Those opportunities to get a stop, to seal the game, they don't come around too often. So I got to take more advantage of those."
The Rockets avoided a near catastrophe toward the end of the first overtime. Durant hauled in a rebound and appeared to signal a timeout that Houston didn't have. Crew chief Zach Zarba explained postgame that the Rockets star didn't receive a technical foul because the referees didn't see him signal for a timeout, per Wright.
"I think definitely he called timeout about three times - verbally and physically with his hands," Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame. "I think the refs just missed it, but that's life."
Houston center Alperen Sengun thrived on Opening Night, scoring a game-high 39 points to go along with 11 boards and seven assists. The All-Star big man believes the Rockets will only continue to improve.
"With (more) time, we're going to get better and better together," Sengun said.