The latest home game of the Phoenix Suns brought out the vintage version of Kevin Durant. The 35-year-old scored a season-high in points against the Boston Celtics while also having to guard Jayson Tatum on the other end of the floor. The holistic display hugely impressed Frank Vogel as the Suns’ head coach raved about the performance publicly after the game.
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KEVIN DURANT WITH A TOUGH AND-1
He’s up to 43 points! pic.twitter.com/3ZFvVXnquW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 10, 2024
Durant displayed his on-court authority while registering 45 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in 37 minutes. While going 18 of 26 from the field, the 2x champion limited Tatum’s abilities to a large extent. As a result, the Celtics star struggled from the mid-range, making less than 40% of his field goal attempts count.
The balanced display served as an epitome of the modern game, as Vogel highlighted precisely that in the post-game conference. “Big-time performance. Do you know how hard it is to do what he did offensively while guarding an MVP candidate [Tatum] the entire night?… A really, really special performance by Kevin Durant tonight,” he openly mentioned, as seen in Duane Rankin’s X[Formerly Twitter] post below.
“Do you know how hard it is to do what we did and guard an MVP candidate?”
Frank Vogel on Kevin Durant’s seaaon-high 45 points and guarding Jayson Tatum. #Suns #Celtics pic.twitter.com/V8BKnxek0U
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 10, 2024
Interestingly, Tatum inclined to align with the remarks of the Suns’ head coach during a post-game interview. Admitting to his below-par display, the 26-year-old stated, “I’m thankful I got great teammates ’cause I stunk it up tonight”.
“I’m thankful I got great teammates cause I stunk it up tonight.”
Jayson Tatum after the Celtics’ win over the Suns pic.twitter.com/IhBJigbZ6i
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 10, 2024
His statement added further volume to the brilliance of Durant on the night. Yet, KD’s excellence failed to come in aid of his franchise as the team suffered a 107-117 home defeat. With a 37-27 record, the organization stays in contention for a playoff qualification with the inconsistencies remaining a concern. Hence, fans hope for several such displays from their talisman as a deep post-season run becomes a priority.
