Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns are trailing 2-0 in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves and KD credited Jaden McDaniels for his impact in the ‘Wolves’ 105-93 win on Tuesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Having the difficult assignment of guarding Durant, the 23-year-old shined and helped guide his team a step closer to winning the series. Leading Minnesota in scoring, McDaniels had 25 points, eight assists and three assists in the Game 2 victory.
After the win, a popular clip resurfaced on X (formerly Twitter) of ‘Wolves teammate Anthony Edwards talking about the matchup between McDaniels and Durant.
“You know they got KD but we got Jaden McDaniels,” Durant said.
Funniest clip of all time pic.twitter.com/HPTX5uFaJP
— Mike (@MikeAdxx) February 19, 2023
When asked by Timberwolves reporter Nadine Babu about Edwards’ praise, McDaniels explained that he tried to give his all for his team.
“Not really, Ant knows what he’s talking about,” McDaniels said. “We all love to compete, so it is something for me to have a chip on my shoulder knowing that I have to still go out here and show people I can play defense, guard KD and I can score as well. Just being myself really.”
Was there added pressure when Anthony Edwards said “They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels.”
Jaden McDaniels: No, not really. Ant know what he talking about. #Timberwolves pic.twitter.com/S6Y1zhRTHJ
— Nadine Babu (@NadineBabu) April 24, 2024
McDaniels was originally drafted as the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Since breaking into the league, he has averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Going up against the Washington native, Durant reflected on how skilled McDaniels is and what type of threat he poses to the Suns.
“We respect him, they got players that shift the defense,” Durant said. “He did a great job tonight, just driving closeouts. Some long closeouts coming from the other side of the floor. That got them going making threes too. He is a long, athletic player, so even if you are in front of him too, sometimes he is still going to make a shot. It was a great game by him tonight.”
Minnesota will now head to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4 as they look to possibly sweep the Suns.
At Footprint Center, Kevin Durant and the Suns face the Timberwolves in Game 3 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Charles Barkley sticks to his take of what is wrong with Suns
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Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
