‘Nervous’ Kevin Durant excels in Suns debut with 23 points

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — New team, same KevinDurant.

The Durant era in Phoenix got off to solid start Wednesday nightwith the 13-time NBA All-Star scoring 23 points on 10-of-15shooting, adding an explosive offensive element to an alreadydangerous offense in his Suns debut.

Durant, playing for his fourth team in the last seven seasons,added six rebounds and two blocks as Phoenix beat the CharlotteHornets 105-91.

“I’ve played in almost a thousand basketball games, but today Iwas nervous,” Durant said. “It’s a new team, new group, and I wantto play hard for them and be coachable. So, I was thinking aboutall that today.”

Durant said despite his success, he still feels like he hassomething to prove to his teammates and coaches. New team, sameKevin Durant.

“I feel there is pressure on me and who I am every day,” Durantsaid. “I put that on me.”

Kevin Durant on his integration processdefensively: pic.twitter.com/sVkp3BVgac

Devin Booker seemed to feed off Durant, scoring 37 points in thewin.

“He’s just a pure basketball player,” Durant said aboutBooker.

Coming off a knee injury that has kept him out of action sinceJan. 8, Durant was limited to 27 minutes while on a playing-timerestriction.

Wearing No. 35, Durant was greeted by a loud ovation as he wasintroduced at the Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phonesstraining to record video of him in his white jersey.

He missed a foul line jumper on his team’s first possession, butscored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on adriving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornetsrookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer fromthe left wing as Phoenix bolted to a 9-0 lead it would neversurrender.

He wasn’t perfect in his return, turning the ball over twice,including once when he dribbled off his own leg while driving tothe left.

“We scripted a lot in practice but when you get out on the floorit is a totally different deal,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.“So there were some hiccups as to what play we were running andthat kind of thing. But it’s pretty cool to be able to give a guythe ball and he can get to a spot and get off a really goodshot.”

Got to ask Monty Williams about KevinDurant’s rim protection, and how that may unlock some schemeversatility with Deandre Ayton.Also asked about the lineup staggering, where Williams revealedDurant will be on a restriction for a bit. pic.twitter.com/F3BuMlZdOG

The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in ablockbuster deal in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges,Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks. He was thelast of the big three to be traded away by Brooklyn, joining JamesHarden and Kyrie Irving before him.

Like Durant’s previous stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, GoldenState and Brooklyn, the expectations are high — and there is adifferent level of excitement with his arrival.

“You feel it,” Williams said. “You feel it at the (team) hotelwhen people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah,I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectationsare a privilege and you have to embrace those things because thatis where the good stuff is.”

Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championshipthis season would feel like a disappointment, but added that istrue of any of the league’s top teams.

Durant’s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career,but this is the first time he’s joined a new team midway throughthe season.

The Suns hope Durant’s addition gets them over the hump afterlosing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBAFinals.

The Suns (34-29) are in fourth place in the WesternConference.

Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on hisnew teammates, which include Booker, Chris Paul and DeandreAyton.

“He’s more than a generational talent, he’s a historic talent,”Williams said. “From that standpoint you can use your imagination,just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an openmind about it not to box him in and say ‘he’s going to be this,this and that.’ So I’m looking forward to it as much as everybodyelse is.”

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be atough out in the playoffs.

“They now have the number one thing that you have to have to winclose games in the playoffs – they have two guys who can draw helpwithout the aid of the pick-and-roll,” Clifford said. “So if youjust give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can’t guard himone-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard himone-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-rollpiece with Ayton, the way he’s grown.

“Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it’s alwaysbeen the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot ontheir own, and then what can they do when they draw help? Andthey’re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts themin the conversation.”

Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know hisnew teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate onthe floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recoversfrom a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.

He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple ofweeks.

“Man, I missed the game,” Durant said, “I’m excited. Lookingforward to the next game.”