Kevin Durant throws shade at Knicks guard Quentin Grimes: “He doesn’t have any free throws on the season”
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant recently unleashed a fiery tirade on New York Knicks guard Quentin Grimes, following a 17-point loss to the Knicks. Grimes had 12 points and three 3-pointers in the game. The loss was frustrating for the Suns, as Bradley Beal, who just returned from injury, got reinjured in the first quarter.
However, it was Grimes who bore the brunt of Kevin Durant's rant.
“(The) shooters, get up into ’em, make ’em dribble. Like, what's his name, Quentin Grimes, he can’t get six 3s up. He doesn’t dribble at all,” Durant continued, “He doesn’t have any free throws on the season, he doesn’t have any assists it feels like but he’s getting 3s up? That’s the stuff we can’t have. It’s frustrating but I think we’ll figure it out."
While some may argue that there was a slight shade in the way Durant delivered his message, the point he made was undeniable: the Suns’ effort in containing New York was lackluster.
The Knicks shot 17-for-29 (58.6%) from 3-point range in their 139-122 win. Jalen Brunson led the team with 50 points and was a perfect 9-for-9 from downtown.
The Suns were 11-for-28 from distance. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker had 29 and 28, respectively.
Agreeing with Kevin Durant, Phoenix coach says defense ‘not enough’
Suns coach Frank Vogel echoed Kevin Durant's sentiments, stating that the Phoenix defense was lackluster during the game.
“We just gotta make a decision whether we want to take care of our business on that side of the ball or not,” Vogel said postgame. “Because what we’re doing is not good enough. Not tough enough, not alert enough.”
Phoenix’s trio of Durant, Booker and Beal only managed to play together for 24 minutes before the injury to the former Wizard occurred. As they head into their upcoming games without Beal, Vogel emphasized the team's need to play with both urgency and patience.
“Urgency and patience. They can contradict each other but both are needed,” Vogel said. “We got to have the big-picture patience to work together, to get it going in the right direction and we got to have the urgency to get it done as soon as possible.”
The Suns have lost six of their last eight games to drop to 13-12. They will next face the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets.