"Just give me, Book the ball": Kevin Durant takes charge after halting Suns' 0-3 skid
Kevin Durant took flight for the Phoenix Suns as they snapped a three-game losing streak with a 129-113 rout of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night at the Toyota Center in Houston. Durant finished with a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 16 assists with two steals and one block.
Durant matched a career-high with the number of dimes. It was a testament to how he is responding to the defense the Rockets were employing on him, trusting his teammates when he gets marked.
Durant said after the win:
"That's the only thing people know me as: just a scorer, but I got intangibles [and a] good teammate. I can do other things on the basketball court."
While the Phoenix Suns had some trouble sticking to the game plan as evidenced by the 19 turnovers they had, they made up for it by letting Kevin Durant and Devin Booker take charge.
Durant continued:
We didn't run many sets. It felt like it was, 'Just give me and Book the ball in our spots and let's see what the defense does...' We kept the game simple that way."
Devin Booker, Eric Gordon benefit from Kevin Durant's career-high assists
Devin Booker also provided solid good facilitating for the Phoenix Suns with seven assists.
Kevin Durant even said after the game that they should get the ball and take charge from there.
Booker had a solid offensive game too for the Suns with 20 points alongside four rebounds and two steals as he got the most of Durant's passes.
Eric Gordon, however, was arguably the biggest beneficiary of Kevin Durant's superb passing, going 10-for-15 from the field including 7-of-11 from long-range along with one assist and three blocks.
Grayson Allen, fresh from his Christmas night explosion against the Dallas Mavericks, chipped in 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one block as he continued to impress in the absence of Bradley Beal.
Durant further said:
"Everybody came in with that sense of urgency we wanted to end this little slide that we've been on, and you could tell it by everybody's approach."
Jusuf Nurkic did not score much, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Kevin Durant did laud him, along with the rest of the Phoenix Suns' big men, for the screens that helped the scorers get their rhythm.