Suns' Kevin Durant gets 100% real about Bradley Beal's night in Nuggets takedown
Yesterday at 02:52 AM
The Phoenix Suns secured their 110-100 Christmas Day win against the Denver Nuggets on the backs of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. The superstar duo had 27 points, while Beal shot 50% from the field. However, it wasn’t the scoring that stood out. His hustle, tenacious defense, and overall motor sparked a third-quarter surge that lasted the entire game.
Luckily, the Suns snapped a strange NBA Christmas Day streak with their win. Meanwhile, Durant was interviewed after the game but felt someone should’ve been in his place.
“This was his game tonight,” Durant said immediately after the game. “I feel like he should be getting this interview right now.”
Again, Beal did more than post 27 points on the stat sheet. One of the stars was contributing a significant deal defensively. He had four steals and a tough chase-down block on Nuggets forward Christian Braun. That intensity isn’t the first time the Suns guard has made a highlight play on that end. In an NBA Cup game, Beal blocked LeBron James, which sent Suns fans into a daze.
A similar scenario applies here. That block on James propelled the Suns to amp up their defensive identity. Although Phoenix won that game by 28 points, it was a closer call on Christmas. However, that block had others looking to increase the defensive pressure. If the star player is doing it, why shouldn’t the bench players or even other starters?
Will the Bradley Beal defensive effect carry over for the Suns?
Playing 38 minutes and being a true two-way player is what head coach Mike Budenholzer believed that Beal could be for them. He’s shown major improvements and has taken pride on that side of the floor. Still, they’ve dealt with injuries that have forced them to utilize him much more offensively. Beal is the same player but doesn’t have that dynamic punch that he has when he’s playing tenacious defense.
Luckily, some of the noticeable effort came from something the 2014 MVP said before the Christmas game. Durant dropped a ‘dog eat dog’ admission ahead of the Suns game against the Nuggets. As a result, they took that mantra, and Beal especially. He had a +/- rating of 12, the highest of any player in the game. His contributions on both sides stood out. Switching pick and rolls, trapping, and having hustle have a lingering effect on the rest of the team.
The win might have been a Christmas miracle, considering Phoenix was not looking its best without Devin Booker. As they develop a new identity without their other star, this might be a good one to adopt. A defensively gritty team with a plethora of scoring is usually a recipe for success. It proved pivotal against the Nuggets and could be the same against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
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