Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant has been crucial for the team to be where they are at 6-1 to start the season and he had another classic performance he can add to his collection.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Durant scored 35 points, hauled in six assists, amassed four rebounds and was the late-game hero with a pivotal layup with only 24 seconds left. Philadelphia had the chance to tie or take the lead, but Paul George missed a contested midrange shot before time expired.
Being the ultimate driver in the Suns’ win, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse credited Durant for how he was able to score on his defense which he was overall proud of.
“He was tough, he got inspired to do a lot of the scoring since I think he knew Book (Devin Booker) was having a tough night. He was working hard to get to his spots,” Nurse said. “I am fairly happy. I know he got 35, but he only got two threes and it is always like you need to limit the number of 3-point makes. One of the ones he hit was really tough, going right, totally guarded, slamming on the breaks and hitting that.
“Probably got a little too deep on us a couple of times. With that height, he’s got pretty good clearance to make all of those. I thought we did a decent job of limiting his threes and we did that. Obviously he still had a big night and he’s a great player, he is one of the greatest scorers in the game.”
“He’s one of the greatest scorers in the game.”
Our @AlecCipollini asked Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse about Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant and how his defense matched up against him.#SunsUp #NBA #MadeForThis https://t.co/KKatlA0oAf pic.twitter.com/LyOVVQCDWX
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Like Nurse mentioned, Durant was 2-for-5 (40%) from three in the ballgame but was a highly accurate 14-of-20 (70%) from the field. No matter who was standing in his way from either scoring from a distance or driving in the paint, Durant was on a mission against Philadelphia and was practically automatic on offense.
In his 18th NBA season, Durant is averaging 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 blocks in seven games. He became the 16th player to reach 10,000 field goals and the eighth player to score 29,000 points in NBA history so far this year.
For Booker, the Western Conference Player of the Week, he had a rough outing shooting just 3-of-18 (16.7%) from the field and finishing with 13 points from seven free throws made.
Phoenix is on a five-game winning streak and the team will need Durant and others to keep producing at the rate they are to make their case as one of the top teams in the league.
76ers star didn’t realize score before missing game-deciding shot, losing to Suns
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
