Kevin Durant calls out Suns after hitting game-winner to lift Rockets past his former team: ‘I didn’t want to leave’

Kevin Durant didn’t hold back after beating his former team on Monday night.

Durant hit a game-winning shot with just 1.1 seconds left on the clock to lead the Houston Rockets to a 100-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday. He received a pass upfield with Royce O’Neale on him, dribbled twice and stopped easily to sink the shot from deep.

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Naturally, this sparked a huge celebration at Toyota Center and resulted in some very clear taunts from Durant.

But it was what Durant said about the Suns after the game that was the most notable part of the night.

“Definitely,” he said when asked if the shot meant more because it was against the Suns, via The Associated Press. “[That was] a place I didn’t want to leave. My first time – I don’t want to sound too dramatic, but I will – that I got kicked out of a place.”

Durant spent 2 1/2 seasons with the Suns before the team traded him to the Rockets in a big deal last summer. The Suns have only made it to the second round of the playoffs once with Durant on the roster, and last season they missed the postseason entirely. Durant has also had three different coaches during his time in Phoenix, and the organization has a new one running things now in Jordan Ott.

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Although the Suns had more issues with their roster than just Durant, he said he felt all the blame was on his shoulders.

“It feels good to play against a team that kicked you out of the building and scapegoated you for all the problems they had,” he said. “And it hurt because I put all my effort and love and care into the Suns and the Phoenix area and Arizona in general. But that’s just the business, that’s the name of the game. So when you play against a [former] team, yes, you have a chip on your shoulder.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 27 points in the loss. O’Neal finished with 15 points and Dillon Brooks added 15 points. The Suns now sit at 21-15 on the season and have won six of their last eight to quickly climb the Western Conference standings.

Durant finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ win. His winning game was the second triple he made all evening. Durant went 2-of-12 from behind the arc.

Both Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 17 points and seven rebounds each, and Tari Eason added 12 points and eight rebounds. Houston now holds a 22-11 record this season.

“Even though I’m old, I can still play,” Durant said. “I feel like every player has that mentality when they play against their former team. I don’t think it’s detrimental to them in any way. But just as a competitor, you want to go out there and beat them.”

While Durant is clearly still harboring some negative feelings towards the Suns organization, he has eliminated most of his matchups against them early. Monday’s game wasn’t the Rockets’ first against the Suns this season; it was their third. All three were victories. The Rockets don’t face the Suns again until April 7. If the two teams don’t see each other in the playoffs, it will be like this until next fall.

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Yet despite his comments, Durant may not even care once he leaves Toyota Center.

“When I get home tonight, I probably won’t even remember it,” he said. “Well, I’ll remember it, but I’ll do my best to forget about it and move on to the next one.”