HOUSTON — This is what the Lakers and Deandre Ayton have been building toward all season.

To be at a place where Ayton not only executed the role the Lakers asked of him at a high level but also took pride in it.

To consistently make a difference in games even if the impact didn’t show up in the box score.

And that’s what Ayton provided early in the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Rockets.

“It’s been fun, I’m not gonna lie,” Ayton said Friday. “Especially just having a team out there that [has] your back and everybody just dialed in on the defensive end. Defense [has] really been fun on that end with the communication, the terminologies we’ve created and practiced. And the schemes we’ve created as well. Just being players, adjusting to certain coverages they throw at us. And all of that’s just fun, just being at war with your guys that’s on the same mission as you.”

Ayton’s impact in the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Rockets in Los Angeles, with his stats reflecting his significance: 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot, being a plus-7 in 35 minutes during a game the Lakers won by nine points. 

His stats in the Game 2 victory weren’t as impressive: six points on 3-of-8 shooting, five rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist, being a minus-5 in a game the Lakers won by seven. But the box score didn’t tell the whole story.

He once again played impeccable defense against Rockets All-Star big man Alperen Sengun, who shot 1 of 8 from the field when Ayton guarded him, according to the league’s tracking data. 

The Lakers continued to be a much better defensive rebounding team when Ayton was on the floor compared to when he was on the bench, even if he wasn’t the one grabbing the defensive boards.

His screening in pick and rolls with LeBron James and Marcus Smart was crucial to key stretches for the Lakers in Game 2. 

“We love giving DA praise,” coach JJ Redick said. “We love to give him — I mean, when he does what we ask him to do, he should get all the praise in the world. Again, he’s the former No. 1 pick, and he’s doing a lot of thankless work at times, so we always praise him for [it].”

The thankless work, as Redick put it, has started with limiting Sengun, who shot a combined 7 of 28 from the field in the first two playoff games when guarded by Ayton or Jaxson Hayes.

Ayton was credited with holding Sengun to 5-of-19 shooting.

“They’re doing a really good job of trying to make his initial catch further away from the basket,” Redick said. “We have our team Sengun coverages. When they have been 1-on-1, with them particularly in the middle of the floor, that’s typically when it happens, they just did a really nice job of using their length and verticality to make things tough on him. A big part of their progression from Game 1 to Game 2 was their shift discipline off of him, and that starts in transition. They did a much better job in the early offense of loading the basketball.”

Ayton also has been asked to switch onto the perimeter, where he’s held his own.

“I love to guard 1-5,” Ayton said. “It’s been like that, the Lakers challenging me to guard 1-5. I love that. I’ve been waiting to show that. I thought it was gonna be a secret weapon, but I’ve been practicing it and having multiple reps guarding the best players in the league on isolations. And the confidence is way up there.”

For Ayton, the playoffs are about once again showing what he can provide as a two-way big.

“I’m in a winning position, a winning team, a team that wants to win,” he said. “For me, it turns up everything. It turns everything up a notch. My level of focus, my level of intent, everything is really just amplified. Just being consistent in what the team wants. That’s about it. Just showing passion for the game. I love this game. I love to compete. I love to model myself of being a two-way player in this league. I take pride in it. The playoffs is where you really get to show it the best.”

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