Durant did not have an easy time matching up against Barnes.
Kevin Durant struggled mightily against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. The Phoenix Suns superstar could not overcome the defensive attention that the Raptors were giving him all night, resulting in a weak performance individually. His lackluster offensive output contributed to a resounding 127-109 loss for Phoenix, at the hands of Toronto.
The Raptors snapped a brief two-game losing streak thanks to their valiant defensive efforts on Durant. The future Hall of Fame player posted a lousy 15 points, while shooting an underwhelming 5-of-15 from the field and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Raptors covered Durant well as a team, but there was one star leading the efforts on that end of the court, in particular. Scottie Barnes made sure to utilize his size, length, strength, you name it, to bother the Suns forward throughout the night.
Durant certainly took notice, making sure to highlight Barnes in his postgame comments made to Michael Grange.
“They did a great job as a team, denying me, doubling me, even doubling me when I didn’t have the ball sometimes. Scottie is really good in that scheme, he’s long and athletic. I usually get guarded by the whole team, but they did a great job of playing hard in that scheme and making it tough on me. I think that’s why we lost, I didn’t make enough shots tonight.”
-Kevin Durant
Barnes has been the catalyst for the Raptors’ improvements on the defensive end. Toronto struggled on that side of the basketball court to begin the season, but have been much improved of late.
In their last 15 games, the Raptors possess the seventh-best defensive rating in the NBA. Their mark of 110.5 is comparable to some of the elite teams in the NBA like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, and others.
With Barnes playing at the level he has on that end, the defensive star surely deserves a strong look once the All-Defensive Team honors are being voted on for the 2024-25 NBA season.