While the Denver Nuggets landed a brilliant victory over the Suns, they certainly couldn’t stop Kevin Durant from having a historic night of his own. Everyone who knows KD will attest that it is the toughest job to guard the Slim Reaper. Nikola Jokic is one of them.
Talking to a reporter right after their win, Jokic praised the rookies that Denver has. But at the same time, he gave a simple reality check in that casual way of his.
Nikola Jokic gives a reality check to Peyton Watson
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Jokic has just two words about the rookie Peyton Watson, “He tried.” Julius Strawther and Peyton Watson are rookies who are getting quite a bit of attention. When they took the floor, Watson’s idea to guard Durant clearly backfired. Talking about the same, Jokic says, “He definitely tried … but he needs to learn to be patient…don’t jump on the pump fake.”
Echoing the conviction of many fellow players, Jokic gives props to Kevin Durant, “ONE OF THE BEST SCORERS EVER!” To go against a veteran forward like Kevin Durant is suicide. Even piling several defenders on him is not a long-term solution. He isn’t called the ‘Slim Reaper’ just for his lanky frame.
Kevin Durant has a historic night amidst Suns’ loss
KD moved to the Top 10 NBA scoring list on Friday’s matchup against defending champions, Nuggets. He passed former NBA center Moses Malone to join players like Chamberlain, Bryant, O’Neal, Jordan, and others. It was the only good news amid a hard battle.
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Durant needed 17 points to move past Malone, which he made with a layup against Jokic and co. He now has a total of 27423 points, according to NBA Advanced Stats. Looking back at the number of times he’s made history, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Back in 2007-08, the Slim Reaper had joined Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James for being the only teenagers to average 20 points or more for an entire season. It looks like Durant is not far from surpassing Anthony on the NBA scoring board either.
Ranking ninth, the former power forward and New York native has 28289 points. KD will have to score 866 to tie with Carmelo for the ninth position. But we all know that won’t be how it will play out.
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