Kevin Durant scores 33 points in return to Brooklyn as Nets fall to Phoenix Suns
Suns forward Kevin Durant gestures in the first half of an NBA game against the Nets at Barclays Center on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Kevin Durant returned to Barclays Center Wednesday and he heard it all from pregame cheers to in-game boos in his first appearance since the Nets traded him last February.
Durant, who spent 32 1⁄2 seasons in Brooklyn, said this week he didn’t want a tribute video because he felt he didn’t earn one. He received one anyway and drew cheers as the first visiting Suns player introduced.
Durant then reminded Nets fans of his scoring brilliance during the Suns’ 136-120 win over the Nets Wednesday. With a nationally televised audience watching on ABC, Durant poured in 33 points while taking just 16 shots.
The 17-year veteran made more free throws (11) than field goals (10). He added eight assists and five rebounds as the Suns won for the ninth time in 11 games.
“It’s always fun. They get a kick out of it. Something they’re going to always remember,” Durant said of the crowd reaction . . . I feel like this crowd in Brooklyn understands me more than probably any crowd in the league.”
The Suns, who shot a blistering 62% from the field, pulled away with a 17-3 run in the third quarter. Durant scored 10 of those points, starting the run with a 19-foot jumper and ending it by driving on Cam Thomas and scoring while being fouled, leading to a three-point play.
Thomas appreciated Durant being a mentor during his first two seasons with the Nets. He had team-high 25 points Wednesday night but had to see Durant gesture that he was “too small” on that third-quarter sequence. “He’s my brother and I got to teach him a lesson if he’s going to guard me out there,” Durant said.
Said Thomas, “That’s what Kevin does. Get to his mid-range. When you blitz him, he makes the right play. [It’s just him] being the all-around scorer that he is, that we know to be. He played a great game so credit to him.”
It overshadowed the Nets (19-28) leading 71-70 at one point in the third and tying the game at 75. The Suns (28-20) raced away thanks to a 42-point quarter and led by as many as 21 in the fourth.
With Ben Simmons ruled out with a left knee contusion, the Nets lacked size with Day’Ron Sharpe (knee) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle) also out. Suns center Jusuf Nurkic took advantage with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Devin Booker also had 22 points for the Suns.
The Nets were also out rebounded 52-36 and allowed the Suns to shoot 75.7% in the paint while getting 56 paint points. “We missed some people tonight in order to have another big body out there to fix some of the things when Nurk when rolling to the rim,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “So we’ll continue to look at other ways if we have to play small to figure things out.”
Mikal Bridges, who the Nets added in the Durant trade, added 21 points while making six three-pointers for the second straight game. It was the third time in the last four games where both Thomas and Bridges each had at least 20 points.
Cam Johnson had 18 points as all five Nets starters scored in double figures. Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points and a career-high seven assists off the bench.
It didn’t help as the Nets finished with just four wins in January, second fewest in the NBA. However, Wednesday also brought love as Durant praised the Nets, Vaughn and their fans even though his tenure only brought one playoff series win.
He used to hate coming to New York as a visitor but his Nets tenure made him love the city. The fans returned the love back even if they hated seeing him score with ease and leave with a win.
“Three or four years is a long time in real time but as far as an NBA career, that’s short,” Durant said. “I had a lot of good moments in those four years.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
