Kevin Durant Criticized by NBA Fans After Struggling in Rockets' Loss to SGA, Thunder

Kevin Durant posted one of the worst shooting performances of his Houston Rockets career in a Thursday night loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Durant led his team with 19 points, but went just 7-for-23 from the field and 0-for-5 from deep, in a 111-91 loss to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the visiting Thunder.

Fans criticized Durant for his struggles against the defending NBA champions.

Thursday's defeat marked just the third home loss of the season for the Rockets, who dropped to 12-3 at home and 23-15 overall.

The defending NBA champions meanwhile improved their NBA-best record to 35-7 with the win.

The Rockets entered the fourth quarter trailing the Thunder by just two points, but were outscored 34-16 in the final 12 minutes as Oklahoma City pulled away with the win.

The addition of Durant this offseason has overall made the Rockets a better three-point shooting team during the first half of the campaign.

Houston went from ranking 21st in the NBA with a 35.3 percent team three-point shooting percentage last season to ranking eighth after improving to 37 percent in 2025-26.

On Durant's off night on Thursday, however, Houston went a combined 7-for-34 from deep. Jabari Smith Jr. was the lone Rockets player who finished the game having made more than one shot from behind the arc.

It was overall an off shooting night for the Rockets, who finished the game having shot 34 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep.

The Rockets will need better shooting down the stretch in order to recover from a slump that has seen the team drop six of their last eight games.

NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported the Rockets are hoping that guard Fred VanVleet, who tore his right ACL in September, could be able to return in time for a potential playoff run.

The Rockets will need to evaluate whether their ongoing slump has revealed an immediate need for another ball-handler ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.