Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first-round matchup. The Timberwolves, who were dominated by the Suns in the regular season, turned the tables with a convincing 120-95 victory.
Despite being the underdogs, the Timberwolves’ performance led some fans to speculate about the possibility of a series sweep.
Timberwolves lookin like they gonna beat Suns 4-0 sweep
— Яuben (@Rubencitooo_43) April 20, 2024
Kevin Durant, a seasoned veteran with 17 seasons under his belt, has only experienced one sweep in his career, which occurred against the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA playoffs.
Durant’s impressive individual performance in that series, where he averaged 26.3 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds for the Brooklyn Nets, was not enough to prevent the Celtics from sweeping the Nets.
The series was closely contested, with Boston winning by narrow margins of one, seven, six and four points.
The series was tight from the start. In Game 1, the Celtics won with a buzzer-beating layup by Jayson Tatum. Game 2 saw the Nets lose a 17-point lead, with Durant struggling in the second half, missing all 10 of his field goal attempts and committing four turnovers, allowing Boston to outscore Brooklyn 59-42 in the final two quarters.
In Game 3, Durant was limited to just 16 points on 11 shots in 46 minutes, while Tatum exploded for 39 points. In Game 4, despite Durant’s 39 points, the Celtics managed to weather the storm and clinch the series sweep, marking the eighth playoff sweep in Celtics’ franchise history.
While that series ended in four losses for Durant, his overall playoff record stands at 101 wins and 66 losses. He has won two championships in his career.
Looking at Kevin Durant’s performance vs Timberwolves in Game 1
Kevin Durant stood out for the Suns in Game 1, scoring 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Devin Booker contributed 18 points but struggled with a 5-of-16 shooting performance, and Bradley Beal added 15 points on just 10 shot attempts.
Anthony Edwards had a remarkable performance for the Timberwolves, scoring 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting, along with nine rebounds and six assists. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Minnesota big three of Edwards, Gobert and Towns outrebounded the entire Suns team, 32-28.
During the game, there was a notable interaction between Kevin Durant and Edwards, with Edwards chirping at Durant during the third quarter.
ANT CHIRPING AT KD AFTER 3RD Q TAKEOVER 👀😤 pic.twitter.com/7S68XB743l
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 20, 2024
Kevin Durant responded to the interaction during his post-game comments, saying it’s all part of the game.
“Yeah, it’s just basketball – not even playoffs, it’s just hoop,” he said. “You get hot, you make shots, you make tough shots, you’re gonna feel excited about yourself. So it’s on me to keep coming back.”
Kevin Durant on Anthony Edwards trash talking him after making those 3s: “Yeah, it’s just basketball – not even playoffs, it’s just hoop. You get hot, you make shots, you make tough shots, you’re gonna feel excited about yourself. So it’s on me to keep coming back” pic.twitter.com/Y25LOvUdN5
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) April 20, 2024
