Durant pins season-opening loss on himself as Rockets fall - ESPN

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant blamed himself for a Houston Rockets debut gone awry Tuesday, as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder bested his new club, 125-124, in double overtime at Paycom Center.

«I missed the free throws, and I fouled somebody at the end,» Durant said. «I think those two plays are the reason we lost.»

On the night Oklahoma City celebrated its NBA title with a ring ceremony and raised a championship banner to the rafters, Durant scored 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting and committed two crucial mistakes that he believes cost Houston the game before fouling out with 2.3 seconds remaining. The Rockets led 124-123 with 11 seconds left in the second overtime period when a pump fake by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lured Durant into his sixth foul, which sent the reigning MVP to the free-throw line to hit the winning free throws.

«Fouled Shai, put them up one,» Durant said. «I've got to stay down, be more disciplined [with] those opportunities to get a stop to seal the game.»

The play marked what Durant might consider the second squandered opportunity to walk out of a sold-out arena victorious. With 9.5 seconds left in regulation, Durant missed the first of two free throws with the Rockets leading 103-102. Durant connected on the second free throw to put Houston ahead by 2 points, but Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 16-footer with 2.6 ticks left on the clock to send the game into overtime.

Catastrophe for Durant and the Rockets nearly unfolded in the first overtime period, too. The 37-year-old snatched a rebound with 2.2 seconds remaining and signaled for a timeout that Houston didn't possess as teammate Alperen Sengun ran over to stop him. The play resulted in a cascade of boos from a crowd of 18,203. A postgame