Suns Forward Kevin Durant Silences Boo Birds in Win Over Thunder
The Phoenix Suns defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-118 last night en route to their fifth-straight victory.
However, it wasn’t their play on the court that was the main storyline of this game rather the fan reaction to Kevin Durant’s arrival back to Oklahoma City.
Durant played eight years with the Thunder helping the franchise emerge as a true destination for professional basketball. When Durant eventually decided to leave Oklahoma City and joined the Golden State Warriors following the 2016 season, Thunder fans did not take too well to the news.
Each time Durant returns to Oklahoma City as the visiting opponent, the fans all boo him in unison showing their anger towards their once favorite player.
“I'm still surprised at how many people, why they boo him here,” Monty Williams said to The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin. “I don't understand that.”
This time around while there were still some boos heard from the crowd there was a certain sense of love that Durant felt.
“I understand it,” Durant said (h/t Rankin). “I meant so much to this community and just for me to leave like that. Early on, I didn't get it. There was more love this time than there has been in the past.”
Durant put on a show in Oklahoma City dropping 35 points, five rebounds and five assists. He was feeling himself right from the get-go and was doing the right things on the court to ensure his success.
“Just being more patient,” Durant said about what has been working for him on the. “Getting to the spots that I want to get to and being stronger with the handle. Just playing in a slowed down game. Playing in an athletic position. The first game against Minnesota I wasn’t playing in an athletic position so I felt like getting down low as I can and being aggressive and I was able to get some good shots to go down.”
It was a chase-down block from Durant on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter with Phoenix up by seven that truly iced the game for the Suns.
“It was one of those momentum changing plays,” Williams said. “I said this before about Kevin, he is more than just an offensive player. It's just his offense is so great that sometimes we forget about his defense.”
Durant used to be the cornerstone of the Thunder organization but now that title belongs to Gilgeous-Alexander who Durant had high praise for.
“I’ve been following Shai since he was in college,” Durant said. “His size stood out, his length for his position stood out so just watching him since then just seeing how crafty he has gotten with the basketball knowing how to score at this level… I think he has mastered who he wants to be on that side of the basketball. With that length and athleticism, it's going to be tough to guard him so they got a bright future.”
