PHOENIX — As he walked off the court at halftime, Kevin Durant glanced at a video board high above him in the Footprint Center. It congratulated him on passing Moses Malone to reach the NBA’s top 10 in career scoring.
Durant had leapfrogged Malone minutes earlier, catching the ball on the right side, realizing he had a mismatch. The Phoenix Suns forward drove right at Reggie Jackson, knocking the Denver Nuggets guard to the floor, laying the ball easily off the glass.
Suns forward Kevin Durant passes Moses Malone for No. 10 on the all time scoring list in the first half vs. Denver.
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That set off a Durant flurry. A pull-up jumper on the next possession. Then a dunk in transition off a feed from teammate Grayson Allen. Six points in 43 seconds. Nearly every NBA player is capable of such a rush, but it always feels different with Durant. Like the burst could lead to something bigger. An avalanche.
In this case, it didn’t. In a 119-111 loss to Denver, Kevin Durant uncharacteristically went cold. He did not hit a shot from the field in the second half, missing all 10 attempts. After a hot start, Durant finished 8 of 25.
“Really?” Denver forward Michael Porter, Jr. said when informed of Durant’s second-half inaccuracy. “Wow, I had no idea. He was getting good looks, though. That’s one of the best offensive players in the league, so sometimes you just get lucky.”
Before the game, Denver coach Michael Malone had recalled during his early coaching days in Cleveland, watching a young Durant, then a rookie with the Seattle SuperSonics. Even then, Malone could see how the length, s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 and size one day could make Durant a special player. And that’s how it’s unfolded. Even this year, at age 35, Durant is off to his best scoring start after 17 games than at any other time during his career. He’s played at an MVP level.
“The one thing that I admire about him is that he’s done it his own way,” Malone said. “He hasn’t tried to be anybody other than Kevin Durant. And I think there’s a lot to be said for that. When young players come into the league, everybody wants to say he’s the next (whomever). And Kevin Durant was never the next anybody.”
Durant still scored 30 against Denver, increasing his franchise-record streak of scoring 25-plus points in 16 consecutive games. At the foul line, he went 13 of 13, which extended his streak to 67 in a row, breaking Devin Booker’s franchise single-season record of 60. Durant makes it look easy at the ᵴtriƥe. He hasn’t missed a free throw since Nov. 10.
In addition to Friday’s scoring output, Durant also dished 11 assists and blocked three shots. He just couldn’t score from the field when the Suns (11-8) needed it most. After a hot start to his 16th season, it was rare to see.
“I know a lot of stuff that I’ve (done) has been a surprise to a lot of people here in Phoenix – I’m new here,” said Durant, who has played only 25 of his 1,003 career games with the Suns. “I’ve been through shooting slumps before.”
This was a good matchup. The Nuggets (14-6) eliminated the Suns in last season’s Western Conference semifinals before winning the franchise’s first championship. Both entered Friday’s contest short-handed. Denver played without Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. Phoenix was without Booker and Bradley Beal.
The difference was Nikola Jokić. He’s become to this era’s Suns what Tim Duncan was to Mike D’Antoni’s “7 Seconds or Less” Suns. A thorn in the side. After Friday’s win, Jokić improved to 19-6 in regular-season games against Phoenix. He had 21 points and 16 assists, distributing the latter to seven different teammates. Denver shot 70 percent for most of the first half and finished at 56.8.
Without Booker and Beal, the Suns needed an extraordinary effort. Something beyond Durant. Jusuf Nurkić nearly provided it. Coach Frank Vogel says the veteran big man is Phoenix’s most improved player. Acquired from Portland in late September, Nurkić is finishing at the rim and playing better pick-and-roll defense.
In Friday’s third quarter, Nurkić backed down Jokic in the paint, pounding his 290-pound body into the Denver center and flipping in a short hook shot near the rim. On the next possession, he did the same. Nurkić scored 13 of his 31 points in the third quarter, bringing the Suns to within 94-91.
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“I think it’s a great change for them,” Jokić said of Nurkić, his friend and former teammate. “He’s a great team player. He knows what his role is. Like some nights he’s going to score four points, some nights he’s going to score 30. And he’s a really good defensive presence for them, too.”
All Phoenix needed was a strong finish. But Durant misfired on a short pull-up. And on a fadeaway. And from the perimeter. Vogel thought his All-Star forward took contact.
“I know he got (to the foul line) 13 times, but he probably should’ve been there 20-22 times,” the Phoenix coach said. “(The officials) are doing a good job, but fourth quarter, they know he’s been there a lot and the whistle stops blowing. He got hit on the arm. He’s getting hit on the hip. Sometimes that can impact your focus.”
Durant didn’t make excuses. He’d rather not put his game in the officials’ hands. He said he’d watch film and stay aggressive. That’s how he’s gotten this far, on a list with the greatest basketball scorers of all time. Despite a cold second half, he was grateful.
“It’s a long journey to be up there and be mentioned with the greats,” Durant said. “It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of preparation and a lot of people to help you get to that point. … All this stuff is cool to do. It shows you’re getting old in the league as well, but it’s amazing to be amongst the greats.”
