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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Houston Rockets dropped another game in their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, falling with a 101-94 final score at Crypto.com Arena.
The Rockets now trail 0-2 as they head back to Houston for Game 3.
Houston was unable to even up the series despite the return of veteran superstar Kevin Durant, who missed Game 1 with a right knee injury.
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Durant finished the game with a team-high 23 points, but also recorded a whopping nine turnovers.
During Wednesday morning's episode of "Get Up" on ESPN, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins went off on Rockets coach Ime Udoka for not putting Durant in positions to succeed.
"The Rockets are the dumbest team and the most selfish team in the postseason," Perkins said. "JJ Redick is coaching circles around Ime Udoka. We can blame Kevin Durant for those nine turnovers, but we can also blame Ime Udoka for having Kevin Durant in that position — knowing that [the Lakers] are going to send two people at him every single time."
Perkins also criticized Rockets center Alperen Sengun for a lack of effort on defense.
On the other side of the court, the Lakers put forth another inspiring effort without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Role players Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard stepped up in a big way, combining for 48 points in the Game 2 victory. 41-year-old NBA superstar LeBron James once again led the way for the Lakers, recording 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers and Rockets will tipoff in a Game 3 matchup at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
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