The Denver Nuggets headed into their Friday night contest against the Phoenix Suns in a tight race with the Los Angeles Lakers for the second seed in the Western Conference. Given the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak, the pressure was on for the Nuggets to deliver a win to their home crowd in Denver.
The Nuggets appeared to have the game won, but a fourth-quarter comeback by the Suns brought the game to within three with under two seconds left in the game. With the Suns having both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to defer to, they opted with the former MVP to take the final shot of the game.
KEVIN DURANT RESTORES THE TIE!
We’re going to overtime in Denver. pic.twitter.com/MazZJuglcE
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) March 8, 2025
With 1.4 seconds left on the clock, the Suns inbounded the ball to Booker, who immediately swung it to Durant in the corner for the game-tying buzzer-beater three with Denver’s Nikola Jokic making the contest. A player who has hit plenty of big shots in his career, Durant’s three against Denver was just a reminder as to what he’s capable of. Seeing the shot, fans went online to share their reactions.
CHRISTIAN BRAUN HITS THE 3 TO GIVE DENVER THE LEAD WITH 1.4 LEFT 🚨
KEVIN DURANT TIES THE GAME TO SEND US TO OVERTIME 😱😱😱
WHAT A FINISH TO REGULATION ON ESPN! pic.twitter.com/6TGIdLGrl7
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2025
What made this moment even more heartbreaking for the Nuggets trying to close it out in regulation was that Christian Braun hit a three at right before to give the team a 125-122 lead. However, Durant didn’t let them get away easy.
KEVIN DURANT SENDS IT TO OVERTIME 😱
The Suns come all the way back from trailing by 21 PTS in the third 😳 pic.twitter.com/6VyEjGdiv1
— ESPN (@espn) March 8, 2025
In his 17th year in the NBA, Durant is still playing at an All-NBA level, as he entered Friday averaging 26.9 points per game this season in 49 appearances. While it hasn’t led to a great season in Phoenix, he could be on the move this offseason.
HE’S KEVIN DURANT. YOU KNOIW WHO HE IS. pic.twitter.com/m5AKJXGNxx
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 8, 2025
While the Nuggets ended up holding on for the win in overtime, Durant’s heroic efforts weren’t enough to give the Suns their 30th win of the season.
Nikola Jokic Makes NBA History in Nuggets-Mavericks
Latest Update on Denver Nuggets Potentially Signing Ex-Lakers Player
Nikola Jokic’s Brutally Honest Statement on Luka Doncic Trade to Lakers