Kevin Durant spoke candidly after Houston’s 111-99 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday night at Toyota Center. The Rockets fell behind late in the third quarter as the Spurs erased a 16-point deficit behind Victor Wembanyama’s 28 points and 16 rebounds.
Durant credited San Antonio’s adjustments, saying, “Once Wemby got his fourth foul, they made an adjustment which kind of helped them get back into the game… putting Wemby on Twin, letting them just roam around.” He added that the defense disrupted Houston’s rhythm, but stressed the team’s offensive approach remained a collective effort.
“It don’t matter if I touch the ball… everybody here can score,” Durant said. “It don’t matter if I touch the ball to be honest cuz everybody here can score. It shouldn’t be about me touching the ball every possession. I definitely want to get the ball and be aggressive, but I felt like we were in a good rhythm throughout the whole game. I’m gonna try to force it, but that wasn’t the reason why we lost.”
When asked about responding to defensive adjustments, he emphasized ball movement: “Still move the ball. Don’t get bogged down, try to iso or tactic or attack your head on… Keep our offense… feel like we still got shots up though. We shot 17 more shots than them. We’ll watch film and figure out specifically how we need to beat stuff like that.”
Durant also addressed Houston’s second-chance opportunities, noting, “It’s a case by case thing… guys are open, try to find those threes, but at the same time, just be aggressive when you get that and try to get some quick points. We’ll be better in that area.”
On offensive strategy against Wembanyama’s roaming defense, Durant said, “Be more of a screener. You can still handle the screen… We just got to play our game. Don’t think too much about it, just play how we play… Keep getting better. We got another game tomorrow.”
Durant highlighted the challenge of guarding free throws and finishing at the rim, stating, “He tried to get to the free throw line… sometimes we fouled him… but you got to give them credit. They came out here had a game plan they wanted to stick to.”
Looking ahead, Durant welcomed the back-to-back schedule, saying, “Games like this can simmer if you don’t move on… it’s good that we’re on a back to back… learn from it individually and get ready to play against a tough Atlanta team.”
Reflecting on San Antonio’s early execution, Durant praised their ball movement, adding, “They played traditional straight up defense… we still tried to get good looks, but we just couldn’t knock them down… second guessing ourselves a bit.”
Finally, Durant offered perspective on his own experience against heavy defense, noting lessons for Wembanyama: “They just start all out double teaming… if you use your height to shoot over people, your athleticism and length… that should matter. He’s getting better in all those areas.”
