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Kevin Durant was delighted to have made the winning shot against the Phoenix Sunssubsequently claiming he was “kicked out” by his former team last summer.
Durant joined the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster trade which involved seven teams in July. And in his first appearance against his former employers, he had the last word, firing a 27-foot shot with 1.1 seconds left to give the lead Rockets a 100-97 victory.
It capped a strong performance from the 37-year-old, who scored 26 points to help Houston improve to 22-11 for the season.
Durant enjoys the winning moment
Durant admitted it was a nice moment considering the opponent.
“Most definitely,” Durant said. “A place I didn’t want to leave. My first time – I don’t want to sound too dramatic, but I will – being kicked out of a place.
“It feels good to play against a team that threw you out of the building and made you a scapegoat for all the problems they had. And it hurts because I put all my effort and love and attention towards the Suns, the Phoenix area and Arizona in general. But that’s just business, that’s the name of the game. So when you play against a [former] team, yeah, you got a chip on your shoulder.
Durant spent two full seasons with Phoenix after leaving the Brooklyn Nets in February 2023, finishing as an All-Star in both cases.
“It’s just love for the players, but I want to beat this team,” Durant said. “I want to show them that I still have some juice in the tank. Even though I’m old, I can still play. I feel like all the players have that mentality playing against their old team. I don’t think it’s malicious in any way towards them. But as a competitor, you want to go out there and beat them.”
All eyes now on Portland, says Durant
The Rockets now travel to Portland for a two-game series starting Wednesday night and Durant says his focus is now on that.
“By the time I get home tonight, I probably won’t even remember it. [the shot against the Suns]” he said. “Well, I’ll remember it, but I’ll do my best to forget it and move on to the next one.”
