Is Kevin Durant playing against the Clippers? Latest injury update on Suns star ahead of matchup (18th April 2023)
Kevin Durant went head-to-head with Kawhi Leonard, as he dropped 27 points and 11 assists as the Phoenix Suns fell 115-110 to the LA Clippers on Sunday
Game 2 will be later at 10 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, withDurant available for a crucial game before the Suns head to Los Angeles for games 3 and 4.
The Phoenix Suns only have one player on the injury report as Cameron Payne is questionable with lower back soreness.
Durant will need to replicate or even exceed his performance on Sunday in order to even the series and evade an 0-2 hole.
Clippers defense on Kevin Durant late in the fourth quarter of Game 1
Even with Durant's impressive double-double performance, he was not able to get the ball as much during crunch time as the Clippers defense made sure to limit his touches and force either Devin Booker, Chris Paul or Deandre Ayton to close the game instead.
This defensive tactic was the most evident during the two final possessions of the game. The Suns were in possession, and all they needed to do was get the ball to Kevin Durant in the clutch for a game-tying shot to send the game into overtime.
During the first possession, the Suns struggled to get Durant the ball and called a timeout.
After the timeout, however, Devin Booker was the only option coming off an inbounds pass and was forced to take it strong to the basket as opposed to getting a clean look at the 3-point line to tie the game. But even as Booker got to the basket, his shot ended up getting blocked and thrown towards his legs for an immediate turnover courtesy of Russell Westbrook.
Vince Goodwill, an NBA writer for Yahoo Sports, spoke with ESPN's Monica McNutt on the "Ball Don't Lie" podcast regarding Durant's limited touches in the fourth quarter of Game 1.
"I love Monty Williams as a coach," Goodwill said. "I'm not going to go and say anything crazy, but I think an adjustment he has to make is KD didn't touch the ball at all in the last five minutes. I don't know how much of that is on KD, because he played facilitator early."
Goodwill spoke about how Durant started the game as a facilitator as his shots weren't falling, leading to his impressive 11 assists. But Goodwill also said Durant was able to find his rhythm in the second half, especially in the fourth with his shooting but wasn't able to receive that many touches.
Kevin Durant only played eight regular-season games, all wins, with the Phoenix Suns since being acquired on Feb. 8.