Kevin Durant FINALLY makes home debut for the Phoenix Suns in win against the Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Durant FINALLY makes his long-awaited home debut for the Phoenix Suns in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves as he returns to the court after 10 games after spraining his ankle from a slip in warmups.
Kevin Durant made his long-awaited debut in the desert when he played his first home game for the Phoenix Suns in a 107-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The team’s recent big addition was supposed to make his home debut on March 8. slipped during warmups before the Oklahoma City Thunder game and has been out of action ever since with a sprained ankle.
But he made his return to the field to a thunderous reception from the home crowd Wednesday when the game against Minnesota began.
However, it wasn’t a dream start for Duran in his first home game with the Suns since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets in February.
He missed his first six field goals before hitting a midrange jumper midway through the second quarter.
Kevin Durant returned to the court after 10 games to a thunderous reception at home
He made his long-awaited debut for the Phoenix Suns in a 107-100 win over the Timberwolves.
He finished 5-for-18, hitting a pair of important 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter.
In addition to Durant’s 16 points and eight rebounds, Devin Booker scored 29 points to help Phoenix beat Minnesota for its third straight win.
The teams are in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race, fighting to stay in the top six so as not to fall into the play-in tournament. Every game is crucial at this point: Just three wins separated places 4-11 going into Wednesday.
The Suns took an 81-74 lead in the fourth quarter and held on into the final minutes.
The Suns are 4-0 with Durant in the lineup and the Timberwolves snapped a four-game winning streak.
Durant played for the first time since March 5. He was warming up for his highly anticipated first home game with the Suns three days later when he sprained his left ankle during pregame warmup. The injury cost him 10 games. The Suns are 4-0 with Durant in the lineup.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 25. The Timberwolves had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Durant had played in just three games for the Suns prior to Wednesday night since he was traded to the team by the Brooklyn Nets on February 9.
He made the trade while still recovering from an MCL sprain sustained with the Nets.
Durant returned on March 1 from a knee injury suffered in early January that caused him to miss 20 games.
In addition to Durant’s 16 points and eight rebounds, Devin Booker (L) scored 29 points
Durant slipped on the court and sprained his ankle while warming up for the Suns on March 8.
The Thunder game was supposed to be his home debut for the Suns, but while driving to the basket in a routine pregame workout, he appeared to sprain his ankle and fell to the ground.
He got up and finished his workout, but was later ruled out of the game and veteran forward Torrey Craig was inserted into the lineup in his place.
In his previous three games with Phoenix, Durant averaged 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Durant’s trade from the Nets came shortly after point guard Kyrie Irving was traded from Brooklyn to the Dallas Mavericks.