PHOENIX — The tenor of Kevin Durant‘s long-awaited home debut for the Phoenix Suns was set long before Wednesday night’s 107-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves had even started.
After suffering a hard-to-believe left ankle sprain when he slipped during warmups before a March 8 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant was just happy to have cleared the first hurdle of making it through pregame warmups on Wednesday night. He happily bounded through the Suns’ locker room and into the team’s training room with a message for the waiting staff.
“We got through that s—!” he said with a mix of pride and relief.
The same can be said after watching Durant have an uncharacteristic shooting performance, shooting just 5-for-18 from the field and scoring 16 points in 29 minutes. After it was over, Durant acknowledged some jitters before his first home performance in Phoenix.
“It was hard for me to get sleep today,” Durant said. “It was hard for me to stop thinking about the game. Sometimes you can want it too bad. And you come out there and play like you start rushing and start being uncharacteristic. I’m glad I’m back. I’m glad I’m into the zone of playing again and being around the guys and being one of the guys again, just keep building from here.”
Durant started 0-for-6 from the field and didn’t register a field goal until 5:23 left in the second quarter, but his coach and teammates didn’t seem to mind the rust. They were just happy to have him out on the floor again.
“The whole city’s been waiting on this,” Suns star Devin Booker said. “It’s a really special night and a big night in the history of the organization, and the fans showed the love that was deserved, so I’m happy it came in a win.”
Booker and veteran guard Chris Paul discussed the openings that Durant created for the rest of the group simply by being out on the floor. They have no doubt that Durant, who said his ankle “felt great,” will find his rhythm in no time — which is good news for a Suns team, now 41-35, that has just six regular-season games left and is fourth in the Western Conference standings.
“You look at the shooting numbers, you’re like, ‘That’s not Kevin,'” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “That’s his fourth time playing in who knows how long. … I thought he battled on both ends. I think his cardio’s got to get back to the level where he wants it. Once he gets that, we’ll see the Kevin that we all know.”
In early January, when he was still a member of the Brooklyn Nets,…
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