The Houston Rockets may have just played mind tricks with the Los Angeles Lakers. Without a meltdown, they held their rivals to just 96 points. This was their first win of the series, and it came without Kevin Durant. The Slim Reaper is sidelined with an ankle sprain. The Rockets didn’t need the scoring virtuoso tonight. But with a 1-3 deficit still to cover, Durant is taking no days off.

Durant’s injury is still concerning. In his pregame assessment, Ime Udoka said the ankle sprain has left the veteran forward operating at 50%. He’s lost mobility. Moreover, KD had just recovered from a knee contusion. The culmination of injuries at age 37 generally requires a longer recovery time.

Udoka doesn’t feel that’s the case with Kevin Durant, revealing his status is now game to game.

“He’s doing what he can to get the swelling out, mobility back, and just like the knee, we weren’t sure when he’s going to come back but he snapped back pretty quickly to be available for Game 2. So, it is a true day-to-day, game-to-game thing,” the Rockets head coach said after the game.

Depending on the severity of the sprain, Durant could return next game or need multiple weeks to recover. Udoka did say the Rockets weren’t sure “how bad it was”. Maybe KD misses Game 4 to possibly get more rest. That will only be the case if it’s absolutely essential for Durant’s recovery. At this point in his career, the 16-time All-Star just wants to play as much as he can.

Kevin Durant is in the lab, doing everything possible to join the team as they face elimination before every game moving forward. Houston is waiting patiently. In the meantime, the message within the locker room isn’t to wait around, but to elevate and deliver results.

The Rockets get it done without Kevin Durant

After an ugly meltdown in Game 3, where the Rockets blew a 6-point lead with 25 seconds remaining, a sweep seemed inevitable. Durant was the only player who could comfortably score that night. He wasn’t out on the floor for Game 4. But the Rockets’ mentality damn sure was. Udoka produced his best coaching performance of the series and sent shockwaves through the Lakers.

Majorly, it’s because he’s leaving no room for excuses. “Like I said, we can do it without them,” Udoka said before the game about the veteran absences on their roster.

The players fed off his resilience and belief. The Rockets shot 40% from beyond the arc and scored 115 points, their highest in the series so far. All of their starters were in double-digits. But the humiliation they forced on the Lakers came thanks to their high activity on defense.

They forced 23 turnovers from the Lakers. They didn’t let LeBron James boss them around. The Akron Hammer committed eight turnovers and scored just 10 points. Taking out the facilitator blew up everything. Luke Kennard couldn’t get his threes to fall, nor could Marcus Smart do much to aid the offense. The only healthy contributions the Lakers got were from Deandre Ayton, who scored 19 with 10 rebounds before being ejected

With an impossible mountain to climb, the Rockets needed this game. It was an unforgiving warning to the Lakers. The Rockets haven’t quit yet and will refuse to do so even with the circumstances in front of them. This is the kind of energy that could deflate the Lakers if things don’t change with Luka Doncic’s status for the series.

The Rockets have to do so three more times. And the longer they stretch the series, the healthier they could get.