After playing 3 away games, Kevin Durant was all prepared to make his home debut for the Phoenix Suns. However, a catastrophe occurred even before the game was tipped off.
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During the pregame shootaround, KD slipped while hitting a layup. Tweaking his left ankle, the 2014 MVP was ruled out for the contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin Durant took a fall while warming up for his first home game with the Suns
He got up after. pic.twitter.com/J8SGlVQahj
— (@sportingnews) March 9, 2023
In KD’s absence, Devin Booker decided to put on a show for the 17,000+ crowd present at the Footprint Center.
Playing merely 27:30 minutes, D-Book erupted for a 44-point scoring outburst.
Devin Booker is the first player in Suns history to drop 35+ in 4 straight games
Tonight: 44 PTS, 4 AST, 6 3PM, 74% FG pic.twitter.com/TPED9af1aY
— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2023
Also Read: Why is Kevin Durant not Playing Tonight vs Thunder?
“We’ll reschedule the party”: Devn Booker on KD’s home debut
Becoming the first player in franchise history to record 35+ points in 4 straight games, Booker gave an update on the Slim Reaper’s injured ankle. During the postgame interview, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard revealed:
“He’s fine, it’s just a roll. We’ll get him right and he’ll have the debut another day.”
“He’s fine, it’s just a roll. We’ll get him right and he’ll have the debut another day.”
Devin Booker with some assurance to Suns fans on Kevin Durant’s injury. pic.twitter.com/WAZKoEgkv7
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) March 9, 2023
Further, later in the postgame press conference, revealed being excited to witness the 13-time All-Star play on his home hardwood for the first time. The 26-year-old star also stated that Durant’s debut “party” would be rescheduled.
“The city has been waiting on this. It’s a big day. We’ll reschedule the party. I’m sure they’ll be back. People who missed out tonight, I tried to give them a little something to make it better, but we’re still anticipating his debut.”
Was Devin Booker looking forward to seeing what the Footprint Center was going to be like for Kevin Durant’s debut? “100 percent. The city’s been waiting on this. It was a big day. We’ll reschedule the party.” pic.twitter.com/cX9VmKjZtH
— Nick King (@NickKingSports) March 9, 2023
Monty Williams gives an injury update on Kevin Durant
After securing the win, Monty Williams gave an update on his superstar’s ankle injury. The Phoenix Suns head coach disclosed:
“We’ll get more testing done tomorrow. But right now it’s just a ankle sprain. We don’t have anything official to report… We’ll just have to wait and see how he responds to treatment. We’ll probably get some more imaging just to make sure everybody is on the same page.”
Monty Williams says it’s a sprained ankle for Kevin Durant. No word on a timetable. pic.twitter.com/cXjNoaowpb
— Nick King (@NickKingSports) March 9, 2023
Having already missed out on almost 2 months of action, it is absolutely sad to see the 2-time champ sustain yet another injury. Hopefully, the injury isn’t very serious which keeps the 6-foot-10 forward out for a very long time.
Also Read: Kevin Durant And Devin Booker Set NBA Record Not Seen Since The Wilt Chamberlain Era
