The Phoenix Suns needed a win tonight against the defending-champion Denver Nuggets coming off an embarrassing loss to the Spurs, and they got exactly that led by a Kevin Durant masterpiece.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Durant finished with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting and a season-high in rebounds (13) and blocks (5), as the Suns (43-30) defeated the Nuggets (51-22) 104-97. Phoenix moved to seventh place in the Western Conference with the win.
Kevin Durant leads the @Suns to a big win in Denver to jump up to #7 in the West!
30 PTS, 13 REB, 5 BLK, 12-20 FGM 🔥 pic.twitter.com/u7w0zPLecy
— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2024
This all came after Durant delivered strong remarks on what needed to change for the Suns yesterday at practice.
“We know what needs to be done,” Durant said to AZ Central’s Duane Rankin. “Conversation is cool, communication is cool, letting everybody know what we need to do out there, but you still got to put our bodies in action to do it. It’s a difference between going to do something and just talking about something.
“It’s about what we do on the floor, and I think that’ll speak for us more than what I’ve got to say right now, or coach got to say or every player, it’s about what we do on the floor. You can talk all you want to. If you want a chance for anything, talk means nothing.”
Breaking down tonight’s win
Denver has now only lost three games since the All-Star break (15-3) and two of these losses have come against the Suns, both on the road.
Durant led Phoenix with 35 points in the first Suns’ win over the Nuggets on March 5, but on 14-of-34 shooting. Tonight marked the first time the Big 3 played together against Denver. Jusuf Nurkić, however, was out for Phoenix, while Jamal Murray was out for Denver.
Devin Booker had 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting and nine assists. An injured Bradley Beal played through it and notched 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting and seven assists.
It took everyone tonight! 📊
Durant: 30 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 5 BLK
Booker: 17 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB
Allen: 13 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL
Beal: 10 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK
Gordon: 10 PTS, 1 REB, 1 BLK
Bol: 8 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST
Young: 6 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
O'Neale: 5 PTS, 7… pic.twitter.com/q3Ip9FqiO7— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 28, 2024
With that being said, these two co-stars handled a lot of playmaking duties, but Durant was not only leading the charge scoring but making defensive plays like this all night.
KEVIN DURANT ALL-NBA DEFENDER 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/gqAzzURnKf
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 28, 2024
“Obviously he carries the load for us (offensively),” coach Frank Vogel said postgame. “When he’s being aggressive like that, offensively, I think it just gives our whole group a little more confidence, knowing that we’re rolling with one of the best ever to do it. And then he’s going, and we got a great chance to win no matter who we’re playing.
“But to see his commitment as a low man, another focal point of our film session where we’re dodging out of the way as a group too much defensively. His low man play was exceptional. And five blocks, just a great two-way performance.”
Is this the best performance by Kevin Durant as a Sun?
While both of the victories over Denver could be considered as the Suns top wins this season, this is up there as Durant’s best performance as a Sun because of the way he played on both ends.
If you want to compare his past performances, here are the significant games in which Durant had 30 or more points this season.
And the four games in the playoffs last season when Durant scored 30 or more points:
Durant’s had some terrific games as a Sun, but his efficiency and ability to carry Phoenix on both sides of the ball coming off a really bad loss and on the road against the defending champs has to make this up there for his case for his best performance so far.
The Suns and Durant have to carry this performance over, as they gear up to take on the Thunder Friday night in the fourth matchup of their five game road trip.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
