When he wants to put the ball in the basket, there are few defenders in the league who can stop Kevin Durant from doing that. The 36-year-old’s unstoppable scoring prowess was on full display against the Sixers last night as he converted the game-winning drive to secure a 118-116 win for his Phoenix Suns.
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The Slim Reaper’s fourth-quarter heroics helped the Suns extend their win streak to 5 games, with Durant leading his team’s 14-3 run to overcome Philadelphia late in the game. But it was KD’s layup with 24 seconds on the clock that was the final dagger. The two-time NBA champion touched on that pivotal play in the post-game presser and revealed how he wanted to switch Guerschon Yabusele onto him.
“We got Yabusele on me, that’s the matchup we wanted. And so, I mean he’s a center so not really much rim protection back there. So, I just decided to drive,” Durant explained.
"That's the matchup we wanted."
Suns superstar Kevin Durant on his game winning drive on Guerschon Yabusele against 76ers. #Suns #76ers pic.twitter.com/wAdJTlLYlf
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 5, 2024
With Joel Embiid missing from the lineup, Philadelphia has had to improvise and play 6’8 forward Yabusele at their center position. In their first six games, the Sixers’ lack of size has been allowing 53 points per game in the paint against just 4 blocks per game.
KD, who is a mid-range maestro, decided to exploit that weakness instead of pulling up from 15 feet from the basket.
It’s no knock on Yabusele, however, who had a career-night in Arizona. He drained 5 of his 11 three-pointers and was a big contributor to Philadelphia’s spacing. His long-range threat forced Jusuf Nurkic to step out of the paint, which opened up driving opportunities for Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
Guerschon’s career-high 19 point outing was accompanied by 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block. But against Kevin Durant, the 28-year-old was always going to be at a disadvantage.
KD also gave props to Devin Booker, who was on the wing next to him, but cut to the opposite side of the court to draw his defender away.
The Slim Reaper then had Yabusele on an island and it took him just one dribble to get the 265 lbs big on his hip. Even in year 18, Durant’s first step left Yabusele no chance of getting in front of him. Paul George became the Sixers’ last line of defense, but it was of no use as PG could hardly reach Durant’s release point.
KD banked in the game-winning layup, finishing the game with 35 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and a block. After two weeks of the 2024-25 NBA season, the 6-1 Suns are second in the Western Conference behind the unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder.
Clearly, Mike Budenholzer’s arrival and the subsequent roster changes have unlocked the three-headed offensive monster in Arizona. Fans and analysts alike are slowly seeing the ceiling rise on these Phoenix Suns. We will find out if they can live up to the growing expectations as they look to extend their winning streak to six games on Wednesday night against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
