LeBron James: Kevin Durant will be 'even madder going into Game 3'

After missing Game 1 of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant was cleared to return for Game 2. He had been dealing with a knee contusion, and it was expected that his return would allow the Rockets to even up the series after losing in Game 1.

He did enough of his job in the first half of Tuesday's Game 2 with 20 points on some hot shooting. But the Lakers suffocated him in the second half, holding him to three points on 1-of-5 shooting. For the game, they forced him into nine turnovers and consistently swarmed and flooded him defensively on the perimeter, and it was a big factor in their 101-94 victory.

LeBron James, who had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on Tuesday, was asked how much gratification there was about the outstanding defensive job L.A. did on Durant after halftime. He responded by issuing a warning about the future Hall of Famer.

“None,” James said. “That just makes him even madder going into Game 3. No satisfaction. You know, we did our job. We did that. But the guy’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he’s going to make way more great plays than not. So, we don’t have no satisfaction. That game is over and done with, but it’s still a tall challenge — seven-foot tall, too… He hates that. He might be mad at me if he sees that. He wants to be 6-10 or 6-9 so bad, but he’s seven-foot for sure.”

One has to expect Rockets coach Ime Udoka to make some offensive adjustments after his team mustered a total of 189 points and shot poorly in the first two games of this series. Could he look to position Durant closer to the basket when he catches the ball so that L.A.'s rotations after sending help will be harder to make? Houston's 3-point shooting has left a lot to be desired.