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Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — The Houston Rockets had Kevin Durant back for Game 2 of their first-round matchup Tuesday. But the Lakers had Marcus Smart guard him in their 101-94 win to take a 2-0 series lead.
“It was good for them to have KD out there for them,” Smart said, “and it was good for us to be able to do what we did tonight against him.”
Durant returned from a right knee injury that kept him out of Game 1 to score 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting — but shot just 1-for-3 and committed three of his playoff career-worst nine turnovers in the 18 possessions he was defended by Smart, according to ESPN Research.
“He’s not afraid of the moment,” said LeBron James, who led L.A. with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “He’s always been assigned some of the best players that [have] ever played this game in his career. So, to have someone like that, it just brings a lot of composure to our team.
“Especially when we’re missing — I hate to beat a dead horse, but it’s two big horses — with AR [Austin Reaves] and Luka [Doncic] out. So, to have that, it means a lot to our ballclub.”
As effective as Smart was defensively, grabbing five steals, he was equally important on offense, scoring 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting (5-for-7 from 3) with seven assists.
“Smart, he just had a killer game today,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
The veteran guard, signed to a two-year, $11 million contract in the offseason after being recruited to L.A. by Doncic, was great from the start of Game 2, scoring 14 of his points in the first quarter.
“He set the tone for us, got us going,” said Luke Kennard, who followed up 27 points in Game 1 with 23 in Game 2. “And we know with those guys out, it could be anybody on any given night right now.”
Houston, which was held below 100 points for the second straight game and shot just 40.4%, cut what was once a 15-point lead by the Lakers to just five with under three minutes remaining.
Which was when Smart, fittingly, hit his fifth 3 of the night to put the Lakers back up by eight with 2:23 to go and give them some breathing room.
“He hit a big one,” Redick said.
While Redick said before the game that Reaves had started his return to play progression, confirming ESPN’s Shams Charania’s report that he began on-court 1-on-1 workouts as he continues to rehabilitate from the Grade 2 oblique strain that’s kept him out since April 2, the coach did not provide an updated timeline on when Reaves could be back in the lineup.
Redick added that Doncic had yet to begin his return to play progression from the Grade 2 left hamstring strain that’s also sidelined him since April 2, and provided no timetable update on the Slovenian star, either.
In other words, as the series shifts to Houston for Game 3 on Friday, Smart will still be as important as ever.
“I can look at him and he knows what the hell I’m talking about,” said James, who revealed that his viral meme moment from Game 1 was him making eye contact with none other than Smart to get his attention from across the court. “He can relate to me.”
And Redick said that the team can relate to Smart’s will to win.
“Because he has the voice he has, he can help create the belief and the confidence in our group,” Redick said. “And I think he’s done that.”
For Smart, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season before helping the Boston Celtics make it to the 2022 NBA Finals before two injury-riddled seasons in Memphis and Washington, Game 2 served as a reminder of his capabilities.
“I’m very grateful to be doing this,” Smart said. “I thank God every day, because I could have been out the league, right? Injuries and things like that. So, to be able to be back on this stage again, making the plays that I’m making with these guys, with this team, this organization, I’m just grateful.”
