Kevin Durant still wonders how the Suns beat the Kings

Kevin Durant despite listing all the explanatory factors, the Suns winger still comes to the same conclusion: “ It's still crazy the way we finished this match. » Yes, “crazy”, because when De’Aaron Fox converted his 3-point shot in the corner, the Kings leader had just given his Kings a 22-point lead (87-109) on the players’ floor. from Arizona.

But the latter will sign an improbable 32-8 in the last eight minutes of play to end up winning by two points. An explanation, Mr. Durant? “ I've no idea. Normally, I know how the match is going, but here, I felt like I was in the dark. It all happened so quickly “, retorts the team leader.

Kevin Durant, for whom the Suns were nevertheless “ Worst team in the fourth quarter in history ”, was undoubtedly the one who lit the fuse. It was he who rejected Malik Monk's floater attempt, leading Chimezie Metu to finish on the counterattack. The defensive gesture of “KD” was then imitated by Josh Okogie, on the same Monk, generating new points in transition. With this time, the crazy shooter of this match, Grayson Allen.

Durant's key defense

He tied the franchise record with 9 3-point baskets, including two in the last quarter, to finish with 29 points. “ He's an even better shooter than we imagined », greets Frank Vogel who, seven minutes from the end, perhaps made the decisive tactical adjustment by bringing in Bradley Beal in place of Chimezie Metu, his last interior in play. The Suns were going to finish the meeting with Kevin Durant as a pivot.

A bet already paying off in attack since the natural winger will take advantage of the “spacing” of this five to score 15 of his 27 points in the period. If the Phoenix offense suddenly found the rhythm that Kevin Durant and his teammates needed, it's because they worked on defense.

“ They're a team that likes to play with freedom of movement, so when you can disrupt them, they turn into a different team. We put a little more pressure on (Domantas) Sabonis. We changed on a lot of screens and played them one-on-one », analyzes “KD” who found himself on the Lithuanian.

A defense described as “ exceptional » by his coach: “ Defensively, he played a major role in tonight's victory. »

In addition to his interior dissuasive presence and his work on man, we will cite in this register his counter, less than three minutes from the end, on the winning shot attempt by De'Aaron Fox, who like Malik Monk, clearly forced in the last moments. This block led to a 3-point shot from Kevin Durant in transition, before ending his evening with the winning free throws.

Boos from the public forgotten

“ We see what happens when we continue to play in rhythm and that's something we didn't do in the fourth quarter. We slow down and deprive ourselves of our transition options. You've seen the number of wide-open 3-point baskets we got by making 'stops' », Remarks Devin Booker (16 points and 11 assists) who only shot once in the final period.

“ We stayed in it, in the fight mentally. There were a lot of times where our guys were struggling and frustrated and getting our butts kicked. We see in the modern NBA that a team is never out of the game. We observed this small five. We had five 3-point shooters. All these guys really rose to the occasion. », Appreciates Frank Vogel, citing the return of Eric Gordon, author of two key baskets in the last two minutes.

Also emphasizing the mental strength of his team, Grayson Allen has one regret about this meeting: “ The energy in the room was bad at times tonight. People were booing, I would have liked us to move forward together with the public. I understand that we played badly, they paid for their tickets… », Describes the shooter who, subsequently, says he has never heard such a noisy room this season.