How Kevin Durant's Familiar Foe Made the Difference in Suns-Nuggets

Kevin Durant squared off against former Brooklyn teammate Bruce Brown, who got the best of Durant and the Phoenix Suns.

In a losing effort on Saturday night, Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns suffered on the offensive end in failing to establish a rhythm. The former Brooklyn Net faced intense pressure from Bruce Brown off Denver's bench who picket Durant’s pocket several times in critical junctures in Game 1. Despite coming off the bench, Brown proved to be a factor and is the player most familiar with Durant’s current game.

The aggressive gameplan from Denver stunned the Suns firepower and led to a second consecutive 0-1 deficit in the playoffs. While Durant registered 29 points and 14 rebounds, the seven turnovers hurt the Suns' chances, especially mounting a comeback in the second half on the road in the Mile High City.

F Kevin Durant turned the ball over seven times in a Game 1 loss in Denver. 

While initially not a major factor in the series before Game 1, Brown became a factor when guarding off the bench Durant due to his familiarity. Brown’s time in Brooklyn was spent around Durant’s game, guarding, watching and discussing gameplay. Brown is the most recent teammate of Durant to face Durant in a different uniform.

“(I) really just know his tendencies, for real,” said Brown. “He likes to go left, get to the middy (midrange.)”

It was Brown, who only played 25 minutes in the game, that had three steals, 14 points and three assists that kindled the Nuggets to close out Game 1 strong. 

Brown joined Golden State’s Draymond Green as the only players to post a 14/2/3/3 or better effort coming off the bench in the playoffs this season. Most importantly, Brown’s knowledge of Durant’s tendencies showed, and could be a factor as the series stretches on.

Durant bullied his way to the stripe, backing down the smaller Brown. With a 19-point deficit at the 6:12 mark on the clock, Durant crawled into the paint with several crab dribbles looking to score. Brown forced Durant to his left hand where Denver G Jamal Murray added pressure from the elbow. Brown niftily went around Durant’s backside and poked the ball free for an easy fast break opportunity.

“It was really just an opportunity,” Brown said. “I was trying not to foul. I got in foul trouble pretty quick. I was just being physical. I mean, he is going to make tough shots, so just make everything count.”

Brown did exactly that. The pesky defensive from Brown showed at perhaps the game’s turning point midway through the fourth when Phoenix was trying to get a grip on the game.

Ball Arena rose to another level at the 5:13 mark in the fourth quarter when Brown flushed a jam off another steal. Durant tried a right-handed dribble crossover at about the mid-court hash mark to no avail. Brown read the fake ball screen to crossover combo and poked the ball free as the Nuggets extended their lead to 23 points in front of a thunderous Denver crowd.

Bruce Brown picked KD's pocket twice in the last 2 minutes...i know Bruce saw that hesi crossover pullup in the Nets practice gym a thousand times, and was sick of having to stand there watching it go in while Kevin makes the itty bitty sign with his fingers.

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 30, 2023

“I have a lot of time with K (Kevin Durant),” said Brown. “I’ve played a lot of games with him, been around him a lot. So, I knew he was going to do that.”

Brown had been with Durant on the Brooklyn Nets for two years as a teammate from 2020-2022. Brown averaged 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game in his 137 appearances he made while a Net. Brown averaged 23.5 minutes per game during his Nets career, primarily coming off the bench.

Brown initiated the closing run leading Denver to a Game 1 dominating performance. Should his defensive labor be contagious, the Suns have their work cut out for them. Head director of scouting Jim Clibanoff and the Nuggets planned for Phoenix’s style of play tremendously. 

The Suns turned the ball over 16 times, many of them forced mistakes on Denver’s part. Given the height and spacing mix from the Nuggets, the Suns looked outmatched.

Interestingly, Phoenix outshot Denver in Game 1. The critical factor was the turnovers for the Suns, as Denver only scoured 18 points off 16 turnovers. The Nuggets also had 101 field goal attempts on the night, meaning the opportunity to score was plentiful due to extra possessions from turnovers.

Whole lotta 🍪 pic.twitter.com/uTnI0C8N4n

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 30, 2023

“Yeah, that’s what we try to do, we are at our best on transition playing halfcourt the whole game,” said Brown. “So, when we get easy ones, it gets the crowd into it, and us into the game and then everything starts falling into place.”

Things fell into place for the Nuggets in Game 1 and Brown applied just enough pressure to make Durant and the Suns uncomfortable on the road.