Lakers player grades: L.A. defeats Rockets in Game 2 slugfest

Some people may have felt the Los Angeles Lakers were fortunate to defeat the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series. Kevin Durant missed that contest due to a knee contusion, but he was cleared to play in Game 2, and it looked like the Rockets were in position to tie the series. But perhaps people were underestimating the Lakers' grit and resolve, two qualities they showed plenty of throughout Game 2 on Tuesday.

Los Angeles ended the first quarter with a 12-2 run and a 33-26 lead, but after it went up 49-34, Houston scored 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to cut the Lakers' lead to 54-51 at halftime. From that point on, this game was a rock fight, and while both teams made mistakes and showed some deficiencies, the Lakers were able to outlast their competitors from the Lone Star State. They did it not just with grit and resolve, but also with aggressive and sound defense.

While Durant had a solid 23 points on 7-of-12 field-goal shooting, 20 of those points came in the first half. Afterward, he was just 1-of-5 from the floor, and on the night, he committed nine turnovers. The Lakers routinely sent a second defender at Durant on the perimeter, and his teammates didn't pick up the slack.

It all resulted in a 101-94 victory for the Purple and Gold. While they got beaten on their defensive backboards again, they did a better job of limiting their turnovers. They held Houston to 40.