The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best clutch time defensive teams in the NBA. At no point did I believe I'd be writing the words best, Lakers, and defensive in the same sentence in 2026, but here we are. On Monday night, that clutch defense once again showed up for the Lake Show. In 3 minutes and 45 seconds of clutch time, the Rockets scored zero baskets. None. Not one!
Two Amen Thompson free throws were the only points the Rockets scored in that stretch; by the time Kevin Durant scored a layup in the final 30 seconds, it was no longer a clutch game. JJ Redick and the Lakers completely shut down one of their biggest competitors in the West, and it wasn't a fluke — the Lakers are the sixth-best clutch time defensive team in the league.
In fact, they did the exact same thing literally two days earlier against the Denver Nuggets; in overtime, the Nuggets scored two baskets, an Aaron Gordon 3-pointer and a Nikola Jokic layup. That second basket probably wouldn't have happened if Deandre Ayton had grabbed the ball after he blocked Jokic the first time, but I digress. Still pretty impressive.
In short, that's two MVP-led offenses the Lakers have neutralized in back-to-back games. It's a trend, and it's a thrilling trend for Lakers fans. Dare I say it's the kind of trend that wins teams playoff series? I do dare! But in the meantime, it's just an all-around encouraging sign that JJ Redick has gotten buy-in from this team on the defensive end.
Lakers completely shut down Kevin Durant and Rockets offense
Who would have thought the Los Angeles Lakers defense would have Kevin Durant venting about how he doesn't even want to be a superstar anymore? Not I! But that's where we are now. I don't want to speak for Durant (I wouldn't dare, actually), but this doesn't sound like a guy who would be thrilled to play the Lakers in the postseason.
“I don’t know man, maybe I just need to get out the way, go sit in the corner. Set some screens, space the floor…….”
— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) March 17, 2026
Luka Doncic and the Lakers defense got Kevin Durant contemplating life as a role player 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/E9PlogEoeJ
Every team goes through ups and downs over the course of an 82-game slog, and the Lakers defense might come back to earth before the playoffs start. Even if that does happen, I think this stretch of high-level defense (both in the clutch and not) is enough of a sign to believe they can hang with most Western Conference teams in the playoffs, which is more than I would have ventured to say a month ago.