Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets have been through enough. It may be mostly because of the drama surrounding Kyrie Irving. But Durant’s ability as a team leader on the floor and moreover the locker room was doubted for multiple reasons. And that led to KD making a scathing confession about the team’s current status.

A couple of days ago, Kevin Durant made a statement that might’ve rubbed the fans and his teammates the wrong way. He told Bleacher Report, “Look at our starting lineup. Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton, and me. It’s not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group?”

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The Brooklyn Nets just barely scraped a win against the Portland Trail Blazers in their last matchup. The Nets took the game 107-109 and the credit for the win goes to someone other than Kevin Durant.

Royce O’Neale bails out Kevin Durant and the Nets

It was in fact Royce O’Neale who came through in the clutch for the Brooklyn Nets. The game was tied at 107 with 6.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Nets inbounded the ball into the hands of Kevin Durant.

Durant was forced to a fadeaway mid-range shot by Jerami Grant who did a good job in defending him. And KD ended up missing the shot. But O’Neale managed to get position under the basket and was able to tip in the missed attempt between three Trail Blazers’ defenders.

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Durant’s comments came back to haunt him as fans reminded him that his teammate saved the game. The fans gave credit where credit was due, to Royce O’Neale.

Despite Durant’s 35 points and 8 rebound performance, Royce O’Neale stole the spotlight. O’Neale had a triple-double for the game, with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. 

Durant faced a lot of backlash from fans and analysts around the league for making such a statement undermining his teammates. Well, it looks like Durant may owe an apology to not only O’Neale but the rest of the team as well.

Four out of five starters scored in double digits. Also, two came off the bench to score in double-digits. One of which was Ben Simmons. 

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This was Simmons’ highest-scoring game as a Nets player with 15. Fans will be hopeful Simmons and also the rest of the squad keeps this up. And when Kyrie Irving returns, the Nets would be stronger.