Kevin Durant fires for 29 points as Golden State Warriors beat Houston Rockets to take 2-0 series lead
Wednesday 1 May 2019 08:30, UK
Kevin Durant led the Golden State Warriors with 29 points as the defending NBA champions inflicted a 115-109 Game 2 loss on the Houston Rockets to take a 2-0 series lead.
Durant, who came into Tuesday night's match-up averaging 40.2 points per game over his last five outings, received support from fellow Warriors starters Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, all of whom scored in double figures as Golden State preserved their home court advantage in the series.
Durant connected on nine of his 22 shots, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and hit eight of his 10 free throws. His head-to-head scoring duel with his former Oklahoma City Thunder team-mate James Harden ended even as the Rockets star, who suffered an eye injury in the first quarter, also finished the game with 29 points.
Durant opened his account four minutes into the game, beating Rockets defender PJ Tucker off the dribble before sticking a jump shot from mid-range. Less than two minutes later, Green found him in the corner and he drained his first three-ball of the night.
In the second quarter, Durant connected with a mid-range fadeaway over Danuel House to help the Warriors to a 58-49 half-time lead.
Durant opened the second half with a pair of three-pointers and a pull-up jump shot that extended the Warriors lead into double digits before hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute of the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Durant's stellar Game 2 performance.
Game 3 takes place in Houston in the early hours of Sunday morning (1:30am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
