Kevin Durant’s clutch game-winner vs. Suns holds undeniable underlying impact for Rockets

Kevin Durant’s final 3-pointer against the Phoenix Suns came at the perfect time for the Houston Rockets. Not only did it seal a 100-97 victory over Durant’s former team, but it also delivered a message – several, in fact.

Durant made one of them clear after the game.

“I don’t mean to sound too dramatic, but I will,” Durant said. “To be kicked out of a place, and I felt like I’d been scapegoated for the issues we had as a team last year, yeah, it felt good to beat them and hit a game-winning shot. You play with a bit of a chip on your shoulder when you play your former team, especially when they trade you.”

However, Durant wasn’t just scapegoated in Phoenix. Some basketball pundits were beginning to blame Durant for Houston’s struggles in close games this year.

The Rockets entered the week just 6-9 in “clutch” games, which the NBA defines as games that are within five points in the final two minutes. A mark that ranked them tied for 23rd in the league.

But for a young Houston squad a year ago, that was their calling card. The Rockets went 26-18 in clutch games despite not having a bona fide star. The 26 wins led the league and propelled Houston to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Mix in Durant, and the Rockets have oddly gone from one of the best clutch teams to one of the worst.

Meanwhile, the Suns have experienced the opposite shift. During Durant’s two disappointing full seasons with the Suns, the team went 41-40 in clutch games. But after moving on from Durant, and inserting former Rocket Dillon Brooks, Phoenix entered the week 9-6 in clutch situations, tied for seventh best in the league, and a major reason for their early-season resurgence.

But when the two teams met on Monday, it was Durant who delivered the knockout blow… moments after Devin Booker failed to do so, quieting the criticism in one decisive moment.

The shot was all the more striking given that Durant had missed 10 of his previous 11 3-point attempts. But he displayed his clutchness by draining the final one.

“I just knew it was going up after I came out [of] the huddle,” Durant said of the final shot.

And it came at the perfect time against the perfect team. It also came days after Durant’s historic performance against another former team, the Brooklyn Nets.

But the timing was also important for Houston, beyond just the matchup. The game-winner came just hours after it was announced that Alperen Sengun would miss at least two weeks with an ankle injury. A significant blow for a Rockets offense that has been built around the young forward.

Instead, Durant stepped in. He finished with a team-high 26 points and showed exactly why the Rockets made the move for him this offseason: to be the star who can shoulder the burden and will his team to a tight victory. It was a timely reminder of what Houston has in their newest star and what Durant still has left in his bag.

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