The Phoenix Suns were hosted by the Utah Jazz in an In-Season Tournament game. Coming off a win against the in-form Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Durant and Co. began their two-game trip at Utah with a huge win.
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The 18,000+ spectators present at the Delta Center were treated to a thriller basketball contest. The action-packed clash between the two Western Conference franchises witnessed a total of eight lead changes and eight ties. Ultimately, the Suns managed to prevail victorious, grabbing a huge 131-128 win.
Devin Booker had a great performance, recording 24 points, 15 assists (career-high), and just one turnover. However, it was KD who was the star of the night. The Slim Reaper put up a 38-point, 9-rebound, and 9-assist near triple-double. Further, one of Durant’s dagger three-pointers secured the win for the Arizona side.
With 20 seconds remaining in the contest, the Durantula very impressively drilled a contested three-pointer. The shot allowed the Suns to go up 4 points, making it a two-possession game, with just 18 seconds remaining in the matchup.
D-Book was among the many who were left in awe as the 2014 Most Valuable Player drilled down the long-range shot. During the postgame interview, Booker lauded his teammate for the clutch shot and drew comparisons to KD’s dagger three-pointers from the 2017 and 2018 Finals.
“That’s my favorite shot right there. We’ve all seen it before,” Booker said.
Kevin Durant has knocked down similar dagger three-pointers in the 2017 & 2018 NBA Finals
This is not even Kevin Durant’s most iconic dagger three-pointer. During the multiple-time scoring champ’s stint with the Golden State Warriors, he knocked two such shots. Both of these moments occurred in two different Finals series – 2017 & 2018. However, both of these shots are almost identical.
During the 2017 Finals, KD hit a transition three-pointer despite LeBron James guarding him pretty well. Connecting the shot, the Bay Area side went one point up during the final minute of Game 3.
Whereas, in 2018, KD’s dagger three-pointer was contested well by JR Smith. Despite having a hand in his face, the forward connected the clutch three-pointer, allowing the Warriors to go up by six points with merely 49.8 seconds remaining in the contest.
Of course, Durant has now mastered the art of hitting these dagger three-pointers. Apart from D-Book, the other members were also gushing over their teammate’s incredible clutch play.
With the win, Frank Vogel’s boys now improved to a .500 record. Once Bradley Beal makes his return to the lineup, the Suns are only going to improve and move up several spots in the standings.
