Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said taking Kevin Durant out for two minutes cost them the game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite holding a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, the Houston Rockets fell apart down the stretch. They were outscored 34–15 in the final period and ultimately suffered a 111–105 loss in Portland.
Houston Rockets / Schedule
Explaining the fourth-quarter collapse on a historic night for Kevin Durant, who became the seventh all-time leading scorer in NBA history, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka pointed to a brief stretch without his star on the floor as the turning point.
“Took a 37-year-old out of the game for two minutes and we lose a 13-point lead… that’s what went wrong,” Udoka bluntly said after the game.
In 39 minutes of action, the 37-year-old Durant finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
With the loss, the Rockets fell to a 22–13 record, placing them sixth in the highly competitive Western Conference.
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