Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Phoenix Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker left San Antonio with more than one win Saturday night.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich presented both players with a bottle of wine. He coached Durant and Booker on the United States national team when Team USA won gold at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
āHe means so much to me and to basketball.ā
Kevin Durant on Gregg Popovich while watching the Spurs play while a student at Texas.
āJust a real human being.ā
Popovich coached Durant to Olympic gold.
He kissed her before the match.
“Tell him I love him.”
A bottle of wine arrives. #Suns pic.twitter.com/5sJ3AMmx8P
Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“We talked after the match. He left me a nice bottle of wine. I know we drank one together after we won gold. We have incredible memories even though it was a short time in Japan. “
Devin Booker on Gregg Popovich.
Coached him to Olympic gold in Tokyo. #Suns #Spurs pic.twitter.com/QvROydTrs2
Popovich’s gesture of goodwill failed to dampen the heat of competition between the two men. Booker scored a game-high 32 points and added seven rebounds and nine assists. Durant shot 12 of 16 from the field en route to a 25-point night.
With the victory, Phoenix moved into sixth place in the Western Conference and holds a slim half-game lead over the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
