Kevin Durant and his Phoenix Suns headed into Game 3 of their NBA Playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in must-win mode.
Phoenix was down 2-0 in the best-of-seven and headed home. A win here in front of its home fans would have made this a series for the underperforming “super team.”
It certainly was not to be. Led by Anthony Edwards, Minnesota legitimately ran the Suns off the court. That included taking a whopping 22-point lead in the fourth quarter in what ended up being a 126-109 Suns loss.
Those inside Footprint Center in Phoenix were none too happy about what they saw on the court. It was not a great scene. Boos were apparent throughout.
It’s expected. These Suns did not live up to expectations throughout the entire regular season. They are now one more loss away from being swept out in the first round. That’s not exactly what Suns fans had envisioned when they acquired Bradley Beal to team up with both Durant and Devin Booker.
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Kevin Durant on boos from Phoenix Suns fans: ‘hopefully it ignites us’
Durant saw his Suns lose in the second round of the NBA Playoffs a season ago to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets. He has not seen one of his teams go as far as the conference finals since the two-time Finals MVP was a member of the Golden State Warriors back in 2018-19. He understands the disappointment.
“They expect so much out of us and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react. It’s on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game,” Kevin Durant told reporters after Game 3.
That really is a level-headed response from someone who was minutes removed from seeing his team get blown out in the biggest game of the year. He’s also not wrong. A ton of Suns fans were seen leaving the arena before the third quarter even came to an end.
KD was not the only Suns players to react in this manner. Devin Booker pretty much mirrored what his teammate had to say. He reacted “rightfully so” when asked about Suns fans booing.
Meanwhile, head coach Frank Vogel was a bit more direct.
“You get your butt kicked at home, the fans are gonna boo. I don’t blame them,” Vogel told reporters.
Phoenix has a chance to at least extend the series Sunday evening at home. Whether that happens remains to be seen. But at least, its players understand where the fans were coming from.