The Phoenix Suns are picking up steam and secured their sixth straight win against the Chicago Bulls on Monday. Kevin Durant took over late in the fourth quarter and knocked down a game-winner in the 115-113 thriller. The fact that he sank it after making a mid-air adjustment to avoid the late contest of Alex Caruso enhanced the moment.
Take a look at this shot from Durant, who finished with a season-high 43 points:
WATCHING ON REPLAY ALL NIGHT LONG! pic.twitter.com/EEw60HC8Uf
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024
“Yeah, I happened to see [Caruso] late,” Durant told Arizona Sports. “I was like, ‘Oh they gonna give me a wide-open pull-up at the elbow?!’ And then I just for some reason, I seen him out of my peripheral. I seen somebody flying so hard and just tried to get a good one up.”
Everything seems to have felt great leaving the hands of the Suns’ leading scorer as of late. Durant’s 43 points against the Bulls came after he tallied 40 points against the Indiana Pacers the game before. Durant’s shooting 55% from the field and 43.6% from the field in January to help power his team to an 8-3 record in 2024. His teammates and coaches have marveled at his ability to rise to the occasion down the stretch.
“I haven’t seen a shot like that,” Suns head coach Frank Vogel said. LeBron James, apparently watching on an off night for the Lakers, was also impressed.
That’s a TOUGH ASS shot @KDTrey5!!! Double Pump pull up on the move!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 23, 2024
It’ll be hard to slow down Phoenix’s climb if Durant keeps playing like he is. The Suns — who overcame a 20-point deficit for the second time in a less than a week on Monday — boast a 25-18 record and are fifth in the Western Conference standings despite kicking off the year with a slew of injuries. Now they’re healthy and their new big three of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal is building chemistry and figuring out how to close out games.