Kevin Durant cleared, will play in Game 2 against Lakers Tuesday night

LOS ANGELES — When asked pregame about his team's defensive struggles in Game 1 against the Lakers, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka brought the topic back around to his team's offensive struggles and how that set up the defense for failure. Houston scored just 98 points on 37.6% shooting, falling 0-1 to the Lakers in this first-round series.

Kevin Durant should help with that. He has been cleared to play in Game 2 after missing Game 1 with a knee contusion. He will start, and Udoka said there was no minutes restriction.

All season long, Durant's shooting and his gravity have opened up what can be a clunky Rockets offense at times. Durant averaged 26 points a game this season, shooting 41.3% from 3-point range, plus dishing out 4.3 assists a night. He's a challenge for any defense.

"Well, he's the fifth leading scorer of all time," Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Durant. "He's done it at a high level for so long. He's one of the greatest players ever, he's one of the most gifted scorers you've ever seen, and really just a fantastic basketball player. If he shoots, you feel like it's going every time."

Durant was frustrated to be out for a fluky thing — he bumped knees with a teammate in practice last week — especially coming off a season when he missed just four games, Udoka said. How his knee is feeling and how it impacts his shots and movement remain to be seen, but just having him out there makes the Rockets that much more dangerous in a Game 2 they really need.

The Lakers will be without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique strain) again this game. While there was some positive reporting about a possible Reaves return later in this series, Redick says there is no timeline for either player to return.