In Kevin Durant’s first bout against his former Phoenix Suns on Monday, the 15-time All-Star hit a 27-foot pull-up 3-pointer to put the Houston Rockets up 100-97 with 0.3 seconds left in the contest, effectively walking it off.
Durant’s exit from The Valley came with its fair share of friction, and the polarizing hoops legend couldn’t help but relish the opportunity to be the one to send the surging Suns packing.
“It feels good to play against the team that booted you out the building and scapegoated you for all the problems that they had,” Durant told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic postgame. “And it hurt because I put all my effort and love and care towards the Suns and the Phoenix area and Arizona in general.
“But that’s just the business. That’s the name of the game. And when you play against the team, yeah, you got a chip on your shoulder.”
Durant finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on on 9-of-21 shooting.
Durant’s messy exit with the Suns
Durant’s disappointing tenure in Phoenix turned sour when he, along with the Suns front office, caught flack from fans for what became an extremely underwhelming era in The Valley.
Of course, Durant’s quickness to keep it real and defend himself online didn’t make the inevitable trade much smoother.
And so, in early July, what turned into the biggest trade in NBA history consisting of seven teams, Durant was traded to Houston in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, a first-rounder that turned into Khaman Maluach and other future second-rounders.
The trade is working out well for both sides; Durant is a key contributor for a legitimate contender in his twilight years, and Brooks reshaped Phoenix’s culture into a gritty, overlooked winner.
Houston is 22-11 and vying for home-court advantage in a stacked top of the conference and Phoenix is 21-15 and en route to potentially making it out of the play-in.