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There weren't a lot of folks who woke up Thursday and felt excitement over the prospect of watching a duel between Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant and former second-round pick and Denver Nuggets small forward Bruce Brown. But that's exactly the individual matchup that gave so much flavor to tonight's Nuggets-Suns showdown.
Twitter was left stunned by Bruce Brown going toe to toe against Kevin Durant in a game that was eventually won by the Suns, 119-115.
How is Bruce Brown the game’s leading scorer after three quarters in a game featuring Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton?
Someone help me out here.
— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) April 7, 2023
Bruce Brown needed a game like this. A good sign from him.
— WADE 🏀 (@Its_Wade) April 7, 2023
Bruce Brown follows up a blocked layup attempt with a j, DeAndre Jordan gets the putback tip, Christian Braun drains a corner 3, Brown floats one up in the lane, a full team effort keeping the #Nuggets in this one pic.twitter.com/ih9YdsZnYF
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) April 7, 2023
Bruce Brown is playing great basketball right now.
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) April 7, 2023
Brown took full advantage of the increase in playing time and usage brought about by the absences of Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Brown, who entered the game averaging just 11.2 points per game on the season, went off for a career-high 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field with also six rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes.
Bruce Brown is a man possessed.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 7, 2023
BUT can Durant hang with Bruce Brown?! Not a chance. 😂 pic.twitter.com/dByd5Tf5sC
— Travis Lawrence (@tllawrence) April 7, 2023
Kevin Durant, on other hand, paced the Suns with 29 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the floor, including six 3-pointers on 10 attempts from behind the arc. He added seven rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes of work.
Bruce Brown needed a game like this. A good sign from him.
— WADE 🏀 (@Its_Wade) April 7, 2023
Bruce Brown over 19.5 points + assists vs Suns (1.86) (365)
– In a similar situation vs Suns recently he had 19 PA on 7-18 FG but Aaron Gordon (23 FGA) also played and is out here.
– Brown will be #1 option here and will be one of the primary creators. pic.twitter.com/6GaagB69pH— DENCHman (@Travis_Frase) April 7, 2023
Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown are familiar with each other, having played alongside each other in Brooklyn Nets uniforms before.
The Suns, who are now on a seven-game win streak will look to add another victory to their record when they play the Los Angeles Lakers this Friday night on the road before closing out the regular season with a showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Sunday.
As for the Nuggets, they have the Utah Jazz on their plate in a road game this Saturday and the Sacramento Kings at home on Sunday.