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2026-27 · Regular season
Kevin Durant takes six shots in 33 minutes, questions a reporter about it, then explains: ‘My presence alone is impactful,’ as Ime Udoka says ‘I got to do a better job’
Kevin Durant attempted six shots in 33 minutes of the Rockets’ 109-93 win over Boston and pushed back on a question about it. Ime Udoka says he needs to put him in better spots, and Marcus Smart says Houston must get him touches.
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Kevin Durant played 33 minutes in the Houston Rockets’ 109-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday and took six shots. He made five of them, finished with 12 points, and then spent part of his postgame news conference pushing back on a question about it. The Rockets (7-1) host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. Thursday, Cairo time), and the more useful part of the night came after the exchange, when Durant, coach Ime Udoka and Marcus Smart each explained how Houston is playing with a star who is shooting less than he ever has.
The exchange
Houston reporter Varun Shankar opened by asking about Durant’s shot total. Durant cut in before the question was finished. “Why does that matter to you? We won the game. Why are you singling me out?” he said. He pointed to Jabari Smith Jr., who scored 30 against Oklahoma City on Saturday and 14 against Boston: “Are you going to talk about his variety?”
Shankar answered that Smith is not the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history. “What does that have to do with anything?” Durant said. “Are you just watching me all game? Do you have a solo cam on me? We won the basketball game, bro.” When Shankar said he did not mean it as criticism, Durant replied, “Yes, you do.”
Shankar then asked what he had been trying to ask: how Durant balances using the attention he draws to open the offense for teammates against not letting defenses take him out of the game. That is where the tone changed. “My presence on the court, regardless, is just opening it up for everybody as soon as I step on the court. They don’t have to give me the ball. They’re going to double-team, they’re going to shade guys to me, even when I don’t have the ball,” Durant said. “My presence alone is impactful to the game of basketball. I don’t have to shoot. I don’t have to dribble. Just me being out there is going to cause a reaction from the defense, and my team is taking advantage of it.”
Why the number stood out
Shankar’s point had a basis in the record. By his count, and by Sports Reference data cited in Houston’s postgame coverage, it was the second time in Durant’s career that he played more than 30 minutes and took six or fewer shots. He attempted one shot in 16 second-half minutes. He also did not attempt a three-pointer for the first time since March 15, 2022, when he played for the Brooklyn Nets.
It is also a trend. Monday was the fourth time in eight games that Durant took 10 or fewer shots, and the third time in the last four. He is averaging about 12.3 shot attempts and about 20.8 points per game, several fewer shots a night than last season and fewer than his career average, which puts him on pace for his lowest scoring average since his rookie year.
The Rockets have won all four of those low-volume games. On Monday, Boston doubled and denied Durant for most of the night, and Houston shot 54 percent, made 14 of 35 threes and recorded 34 assists on its 43 baskets. Alperen Sengun had 26 points and 10 assists, and the Rockets outscored Boston 50-34 in the paint and 18-2 on the break. Our full recap is here.
Udoka: ‘I got to do a better job’
Udoka put the responsibility on himself. “I got to do a better job putting him in spots to avoid being double-teamed,” he said. “I know he gets frustrated at times, but we got to stay the course and understand what’s good for the team, but also keep him engaged and keep him moving.” He added that Houston wants Durant to stay aggressive: “If someone wants to take you out, they’ll take you out. But we want him to still be aggressive, getting the ball, getting his shots.”
Udoka also described the third-quarter timeout in which he and Durant were seen talking. It was not, he said, a complaint about shots. “I wanted movement,” Udoka said. “He was like, ‘They’re denying me, and let the other guys go to work,’ but it’s finding that balance of still keeping him engaged, involved, and letting other guys be aggressive as well.” His examples were counters to the denial, such as the back-door cut Durant gets “every now and then because of how they guard him.”
Smart and Smith: ‘On us to be aggressive’
Marcus Smart, who had a strong game against his former team, said Durant understands that some nights he will be a decoy. “At the same time, we still got to make sure we can get him his touches, get the ball to him,” Smart said, “because he’s going to make everything easy for everyone else.” Smith made the same point after the Oklahoma City game: “We don’t want (Durant) to shoot under 10 shots,” he said, adding that if teams load up on Durant, “it’s on us to be aggressive to make teams pay.”
It fits what Durant said after the Rockets beat San Antonio, when he was asked about being an unselfish star. “That’s always been my game,” he said. “Being able to sacrifice for your teammates and knowing when it’s your time is key.”
What’s next
Houston is tied with Philadelphia for the NBA’s best record at 7-1 and leads the Western Conference. Tonight’s game against Minnesota is another test of the same question: how often the ball comes to Durant when the defense lets it, and what Houston does when it doesn’t. Udoka’s answer on Monday suggests the plan is not to force Durant shots, but to design them with more movement, so that the attention on him keeps turning into points for someone else.
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