Behind Kevin Durant’s silky shot-making, and Russell Westbrook’s aerial fury, the OKC Thunder snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday night against the visiting Phoenix Suns.
Durant finished with a game-high 32 points, to go along with 11 rebounds in the 124-103 win.
KD and Eric Bledsoe chirped at one another in the fourth quarter during the talkative former MVP‘s assault on the Suns.
Per The Oklahoman:
At shooting guard: Dion Waiters. At small forward: Kevin Durant. At power forward: Serge Ibaka. At center: Enes Kanter. […] When the group convened at the 7:56 mark of the fourth quarter, the Thunder led by 12. When the next substitution was made, at the 4:22 mark, the Thunder was up 22. In a spurt of fastbreaks and feathery jumpers, that offense-heavy five-man group sealed a much-needed 124-103 win over the Suns.
As he sauntered back down the court — his team on a 14-3 run, KD on a personal 7-0 run — Durant laughed and chirped at Bledsoe. […] “E-Bled talks a lot of (stuff),” Durant said. “And I’m a (stuff)-talker myself.”
The concern with that group, of course, is defense. The stars must lock in, Waiters must avoid lapses and Kanter needs to continue to show improvement. On this night, all of those things lined up. Waiters played bully on the perimeter, using his barrel-chested frame to bother the Suns guards and collect three of the Thunder’s season-high 14 steals, spurring them out on the fastbreak. […] “Dion Waiters is a good defensive player,” Donovan said. “When he’s locking in defensively like he has been the past three or four games, it really helps our team.”
