Westbrook had been criticised for his decision making prior to the Thunder's 114-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day, which ended a run of back-to-back NBA defeats.
The 26-year-old missed his final six shot attempts as the Thunder (14-16) were edged out by the New Orleans Pelicans 101-99 on Sunday.
Westbrook then received a technical foul with less than two minutes remaining in overtime in the Thunder's 115-111 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Durant, who missed his fourth consecutive game on Thursday due to a sprained right ankle, claimed Westbrook was an influential performer in both fixtures before Oklahoma City's road win against the Spurs.
"Who cares what people say?" said Durant. "[He should] just play his game.
"From watching the last two games, he's the reason why we had a chance to win - his aggressiveness, getting his team-mates involved.
"Sometimes it's kind of hard in those situations, knowing exactly what to do when teams are making runs and playing you different ways. But I think he's handled it well.
"Of course, he's not going to be great every game, but that's how the dice rolls sometimes. I think he's handled it well to lead the team like he's been doing."
Durant, who said his foot still "hurts", added: "We should have won both. There's a fine line between winning and losing. We played well both games.
"It was a matter of a few-minute stretches, I think, that's what happened. It could've happened if I was on the court, too, so I'm not going to say it was because I wasn't out there.
"Sometimes that's how the game happens. Momentum switches sometimes. We've been playing well, I think, defensively. Offensively, we've been moving the ball, but there's just a fine line between winning a basketball game."