Kevin Durant Unravels Giannis Antetokounmpo Anecdote

Kevin Durant was flying in circles around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Widely considered as being unstoppable when Giannis is on his drive to the rim, KD managed to do the impossible. The ‘Slim Reaper’ was all over the dominant Bucks’ big man. Even though the “Greek Freak” sustained a scary injury in the third quarter, he got right back up after the timeout finishing the night with a double-double, albeit in a defeat to the Suns.

Post-game saw Durant open up about what he did to make sure Giannis didn’t do too much damage on the court. The Forbes NBA writer and analyst tweeted KD’s response. ” He said the number one thing he tries not to do is give Giannis a lot of space (or a runway) because it can turn into a mini-transition attack. Said it was important to crowd his space tonight.”

Throughout the game, we could see that Durant was consistent in keeping up with 2x MVP, allowing him little to no space to wreak havoc. KD particularly paid attention to staying close in possessions, forcing Giannis to pass the ball. But it’s also important to note that the 14x All-Star had help as the Suns took special care to double-team the 243-pound, 6’11 Antetokounmpo.

Devin Booker led the scorers with 32 points, while KD and Bradley Beal both contributed double-doubles. Durant had 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Beal finished 25-10. Jusuf Nurkić also put in a great effort as he notched 10 points, four assists, and 10 rebounds. The Big 3 alone contributed 85 points of the Suns’ 114.

The Suns had one mission – Giannis Antetokounmpo

Clearly, Phoenix came into tonight’s matchup armed to keep the Bucks at bay. And, it was further highlighted by Giannis‘s scores. On a night like this, where the “Freak” started the game hot, it’s a given he would finish with at least a dominant performance, win or no win. But tonight, he finished with 34 points, six assists, and 10 rebounds.

Read More: Kevin Durant Credited for Locking Down Giannis Antetokounmpo in Suns’ Win vs Bucks

Middleton’s early return to the locker room and his own mishap didn’t help, either. The funny thing is, the villain in both these incidents was none other than the No. 35, Kevin Durant. Middleton landed hard on Durant’s foot after a jumper, lying down on the floor clearly in pain. On review, it was clear that KD was in Khris’ landing space, thereby getting a flagrant 1 foul.

The ‘Badger State’ lost their All-Star forward in the first quarter, just like that. The next blow happened in the third quarter. A baseline spin on, yes, Durant, saw him go down. But, he shook that off, getting back on-court after the timeout.

Anyway, it seems like Durant has finally unraveled the secret to keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo in check. And there’s no two sides to the fact that it was one of the major reasons the Suns kept themselves steady.

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