Durant is old! He only scored 13 points and 7 rebounds in the key game. The Rockets lost to the Nuggets, and KD is fully responsible!

Durant shows his old age! 13 points ruined the key battle, and the Rockets' loss to KD was not to blame

When the final whistle sounded, the Rockets lost to the Nuggets 109-112 at home, and their five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end. The focus of this strong Western Conference conversation ultimately fell on the sluggish performance of Rockets core Durant. The 37-year-old "Reaper" made only 5 of 14 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and only scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. While setting a season low, he was completely invisible at the decisive moment. Durant should be fully responsible for this defeat.

As a superstar that the Rockets introduced with a lot of money this summer, Durant has high hopes. The team expects him to continue his "death" nature at critical moments and shoulder the burden of scoring. But facing the Nuggets in this campaign, he was in dissociated form throughout the game. When the Rockets fell into a passive situation of 12-25 in the first quarter, Durant scored 4 points in a row, but then fell into a 4-minute scoring drought and failed to lead the team to chase points. In the third quarter, Kich scored 18 points in a single quarter to lead the Nuggets to widen the gap. Durant only added 3 points, completely unable to match the opponent's core. Dominance; the deadliest final battle, when Amen Thompson and Smith struggled to chase points and narrowed the point difference to 1 point, Durant continued to attack to no avail. He could neither end the game in the mid-range nor create effective opportunities for his teammates. He watched Jokic make two free throws to seal the victory.

Looking at the opponent, Jokic scored a near-triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Murray contributed 26 points and 10 assists. The two stars teamed up to dominate the critical moment. As for the Rockets, Shepard scored 27 points as a substitute, and Amen and Smith also scored 22 and 21 points respectively. The role players tried their best, but they could not hide the weakness of the core. In Durant's 35 minutes of playing time, not only was his offensive efficiency low, but he was also unable to limit his opponents on the defensive end due to his physical exhaustion. His contribution on both ends was far less than expected.

Since this season, Durant's condition has been declining, with his scoring and rebound averages falling to their lowest since his rookie season. As the high-paid core of the team, in such a critical strong dialogue, he failed to assume the leadership responsibility. He could neither break the deadlock with scoring nor play a connecting role on the tactical end. The original intention of the Rockets in bringing him in was to have the final say at critical moments, but in this game, Durant's performance was more like an ordinary role player, completely failing the team's trust and the efforts of his teammates.

Times may be cruel, but the responsibilities of a superstar should not fade. This close defeat not only ended the Rockets' winning streak, but also exposed the hidden dangers of Durant's declining ability at critical moments. If he wants to lead the Rockets to the championship, Durant must adjust his condition as soon as possible and regain the sharpness of the "god of death" of the past. Otherwise, such a key defeat will happen again.