Nikola Jokic said Denver stopped Kevin Durant by double-teaming and forcing quick decisions, and KD responded that it wasn't frustrating but made him want to be more aggressive in creating plays and getting his teammates involved.
The Denver Nuggets dominated the Houston Rockets 129-93 on Wednesday night, largely by shutting down Kevin Durant.
Durant finished with just 11 points (5/6 on 2-pointers, 0/2 on 3-pointers), five assists, and three turnovers in 26 minutes, as Denver forced him to pass rather than create or shoot.
"I mean, just putting extra bodies," Nikola Jokic explained. "CB [Christian Braun] did a really good job. You know, putting extra bodies, making him make a quick decision, and trying to cover up behind him."
Durant noticed it, too.
"They were trapping, double-teaming, trying to get the ball out of my hands," he told reporters. "We were getting layups. I feel like our offense was clicking outside of making wide-open shots. Like I said, we generated good looks. It's a make-or-miss league.
"They made shots, which helped them set their defense up, and gave them confidence. We missed shots, we were outrunning, trying to scramble in transition. And they're a good team in transition.
"They were just packing the paint, basically playing a zone, just daring us to shoot," KD added. "And we didn't knock them down. You gotta give them credit for knocking down shots and sticking to a scheme."
Credit AP – Scanpix
When asked how frustrating it is to have opponents try to take the ball out of his hands, Durant shrugged it off.
"It's not frustrating at all," he said. "I just feel like I should sacrifice myself even more. If they're gonna triple-team me, I should get it out, be able to make plays. I should grab more rebounds so I can push. Cause I'm grabbing a rebound and I see two dudes running at me at half court and I feel like I made a play and we got something good on the back end.
"I gotta be more aggressive to just go get the ball, knowing that teams are gonna put two and sometimes three people on me, and I can get my teammates better looks instead of having to work too hard for stuff. So I think that I gotta be more aggressive to just go get the ball."
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