Kevin Durant dominated in his first return to Barclays Center after being traded to the Phoenix Suns last year, leading his team to a rousing 136-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The two-time NBA Finals MVP was the best player on the floor Wednesday night and it wasn't particularly close. Durant scored a game-high 33 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out eight assists and blocked two shots, shooting a scorching 10-of-16 overall and 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
With Ben Simmons out once again and coach Jacque Vaughn saving Mikal Bridges' legs for offense, Brooklyn opted to make Spencer Dinwiddie Durant's primary defender during the first half of Wednesday's game He just didn't have an answer for arguably the greatest pure scorer in league history, lacking the length to bother Durant's jumper and physicality to make him uncomfortable both on and away from the ball.
The Nets changed course at halftime, deploying a switch-heavy approach designed to keep the ball in front of them and forced Durant to see multiple different defenders in one possession. Included among them? Bridges and Nic Claxton, versatile defenders with the rare, requisite blend of length and quickness to at least occasionally make life tough on Durant one-on-one.
That didn't work, either. At least Brooklyn fans can take some solace knowing just how much worse it could've been had Cam Thomas been matched up with Durant for the game's majority, right?
Durant took some time to explain why he made the gesture towards Thomas after the game.
Kevin Durant gasses up Cam Thomas after roasting him one-on-one
Thomas is one of the most exploitable isolation defenders in basketball. His rocky path to a meaningful nightly role under Vaughn the last year-and-a-half included multiple instances of falling completely out of the rotation, the Nets choosing sound defense across the floor over Thomas' microwave scoring ability.
Thomas seems entrenched as a Brooklyn regular now, but definitely not because he's grown by leaps and bounds defensively. The only reason why he got caught on Durant during the third quarter possession above is because Phoenix got a stop and had numbers going the other way, forcing the Nets to take the closest man between them and the basket.
Jusuf Nurkic, vexingly, approached to set a ball screen for Durant before getting waved off. Why wouldn't Durant attack Brooklyn's worst defender in isolation all by himself, especially given the likelihood Nurkic's pick would've yielded a switch from Claxton? Durant had plenty to relish about his random matchup with Thomas even before considering their close personal relationship, basically.
But roasting the young player who Durant took under his wing during their shared time in Brooklyn? He couldn't pass up that opportunity, just like he couldn't help but taunt Thomas after powering right through him for an and-1 drive.
“He's mini,” Durant stopped to deadpan, raising his right hand to leave barely-there space between his thumb and index finger.
Thomas, thankfully, did more in Wednesday's game than get abused by his mentor. He finished with a team-high 25 points and four assists, his typical reliance on tough, mid-range pull-ups resulting in 11-of-19 shooting overall.
Durant feted his friend after the game, telling reporters the “sky is the limit” for Thomas going forward.
“He’s only going to get better. What is he, 22, 23 years old? Around the league, it’s already on the scouting report that he’s one the hardest people to guard in the league,” Durant said, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. “So he keep it up, the sky's the limit for him.”
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