In a battle between two of the NBA's most star-studded rosters, fans were treated to a special moment that they usually would have no idea happened.
With Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns visiting a Luka Doncic-led Los Angeles Lakers squad, ABC mic'd both superstars. Coming into Sunday, the Lakers were looking to end a three-game losing skid. Something they ended up doing with a 107-96 win, thanks in large part to Doncic putting the squad on his back with LeBron James still nursing a groin injury and unable to play.
While Lakers fans are still getting used to how crafty and electric Doncic is, he did notch a bucket that Durant warned him would not be available when the NBA Playoffs roll around.
KD to Luka: "You're not getting that in the playoffs, you know that."
Luka later on the bench: "I've never been open so much in my life."
These mic'd up moments pic.twitter.com/mS7oUDVVQL
— ESPN (@espn) March 16, 2025
A warning that Doncic may not have needed considering he admitted that he had never been so open, but one that still led to a special moment between the two.
In terms of why it was so easy, the Suns are one of the most disappointing teams in the league. On top of having lost six out of their last 10 coming into Sunday, they also came into the game ranking No. 27 in defensive rating.
The warning may have also come out of frustration from Durant, who was also caught on the mic earlier in the game admitting to his teammates that they needed to make it difficult on Doncic to score.
"We not gonna stop him (Doncic) from scoring bro," Durant said. "We can't come into a game thinking about stopping they best players from scoring. We gotta just make it tough on him. We can't give him 12 assists and 40 points."
Whether or not they made it tough on Doncic, who finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, is up for interpretation. Nonetheless, still a unique insight from two of the best players in the world.
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This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM.