In the early morning of March 6, Beijing time, the Suns defeated the Lone Ranger 130-126 away, and Durant and Irving staged their first matchup after leaving. This is also the second competition between the two after 4 years. Coincidentally, the last time the two sides met was on March 6, 2019, Beijing time, which was four years ago today, when Durant, who played for the Warriors, lost to Irving, who played for the Celtics. In this meeting four years later, it was Durant who had the last laugh, and he made a shot in key moments to continue the undefeated run of his Suns career. The game scored 30+ points for 4 players, Durant 37 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Booker 36 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists, Doncic 34 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, and Irving 30 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.
Career confrontation: Durant has the advantage
Before this focus showdown, ESPN also posted the history of the confrontation between the two. Not counting today's meeting, Durant and Irving have played against each other 13 games in their careers. In these 13 games, Durant averaged 26 points per game, shooting 47% from the field and 32% from three-point range, with 8-5; Irving averaged 21.8 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range, resulting in a 5-8 record.
The Suns' victory over the Lone Ranger also turned the head-to-head record between Durant and Irving to 9-5, and Durant extended his advantage. In this game, both sides also performed well, and Durant ended up on 12-of-17 shooting, including all of the first six shots. Irving was also fairly online, shooting 10-of-19 for 30 points. In particular, the third quarter was scored 2+1 under Durant's defense, which was impressive. Durant also used color in the fourth quarter, and faced the big hat Irving when he made up for defense!
The Suns led by as many as nine points in the first half, but were overrun by the Lone Rangers by three points at halftime. In the second half, the scores were glued, and in the final moments, Durant scored four consecutive points to seal the victory for the Suns.
The Suns version of Durant is outrageous
If you want to summarize the most intuitive feeling of Durant after joining the Suns in one word, it is "quasi"! It can be said that the KD of the sun version is really outrageously accurate. In the first two games, Durant accumulated 17 of 25 and 4 of 8 from three-point range, and in this game, Durant shot all of his first 6 shots, and in the end, Durant shot 12 of 17, 3 of 5 from three-point range, counting down in three games, Durant shot 29 of 42, shooting 69% from the field, 7 of 13 from three-point range, and shooting 53.8%.
Durant's most inexplicable weapon is still the mid-range shot. As the most accurate mid-range shooter in nearly 25 years, Durant perfectly matches the Suns' system, and teammates such as Booker, Paul and Ayton also dare not easily cover him. In the final moments, Durant also won with a mid-range shot.
Four people 30+ pairs are too classic
This game is not only a duel between Durant and Irving, but also a high-scoring performance of 4 stars. Four players scored 30+ points, giving the fans a scoring feast.
In the final 12.4 seconds of the game, Durant hit a key free throw to give the Suns a two-point lead. To Doncic's basket but not scored, much to the chagrin, Durant protected the rebound and got a free throw opportunity. That's when a funny scene appeared. Booker stepped forward to provoke, Doncic and Booker laughed at the bull, and each received a technical offense. In the end, Durant hit two free throws to help the Suns win.
Watching the two former Nets players clash, NetsDaily did not forget to "sour", writing: "In the past 4 years, Durant has missed 156 games, Irving has missed 123 games, and Bridges (Nets new signing) has missed 0 games. After saying goodbye to Duou, the Nets also have a new core. In the eight games since joining the Nets, Bridges has averaged 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 53.1% from the field and 50% from three-point range.