The Phoenix Suns wanted to beat the highly competitive Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, which meant that everyone including Kevin Durant needed to play very well.
Unfortunately, Durant had an off-night and it severely hurt the team.
Although he put up 23 points and 6 rebounds, he was just 9-of-22 from the field and 2-of-8 from the three-point line.
He also had 5 turnovers.
Following the game, he told Duane Rankin that he expects more from himself.
“I get paid so much money that it don’t matter about a rhythm. I’ve just got to figure it out. There’s no excuse for me missing shots,” Durant said.
"I get paid so much money that it don't matter about a rhythm. I've just got to figure it out. There's no excuse for me missing shots.
Kevin Durant after 9-of-23 night in #Suns loss at #Mavs.
Also had 5 turnovers.
"They just selling out putting two and three on the ball." pic.twitter.com/eHPuy1csW1
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 23, 2024
The Suns ended up losing by ten points to the Mavericks so if Durant had a better night, he may have been able to close that gap and lead to a victory.
Instead, Phoenix gave Dallas their seventh win in a row.
The Suns relied on Devin Booker, who scored 35 points and 8 assists, while Bradley Beal sat out of the game due to injury.
The Suns are holding onto the seventh seed right now but they definitely want to climb higher in the weeks ahead as the playoffs start to approach.
They are in the section of the Western Conference standings where several teams are bunched up with very similar records.
That means that unless the Suns can score a string of good wins, they could sink like a stone.
Durant has had another terrific season with an average of 28.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists so perhaps he just needs a few more days to get back into the swing of things after the All-Star break.
He doesn’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption: the Suns play the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
NEXT: JJ Redick Makes His Thoughts Clear On Kevin Durant