PHOENIX – Kevin Durant’s black Suns jersey was folded up neatly inside the visiting locker room, bound inside a translucent plastic wrap.
On the numbers was Durant’s signature, a piece of memorabilia to be cherished by a former teammate. After hanging a career-high 31 points and nearly springing an upset win over Phoenix, the Nuggets’ Bruce Brown couldn’t hide his excitement at his new keepsake.
“We beat Texas,” Brown beamed.
“We” was Miami, which knocked off Durant’s Longhorns in the Elite Eight two weekends ago. On Thursday, Durant had a bet to settle with his former Nets teammate.
But Brown had another memento to take with him onto Utah ahead of Denver’s final road game of the season on Saturday. He managed to get Chris Paul’s jersey, too.
“So when I was younger, CP, (Rajon) Rondo and (Russell) Westbrook was like my guys growing up, so I made an emphasis to definitely get CP at some point,” he told The Denver Post.
Brown played well enough to warrant the future Hall of Famer’s threads.
Ironically, it was Durant and Paul’s 13 combined 3-pointers that sunk Denver despite a valiant effort as all five Denver starters sat with various injuries. The Durant and Paul jerseys were the latest additions to Brown’s growing collection. He already had one from DeAndre Jordan, from his time in Philadelphia, and a Jeff Green jersey, which Brown snagged last season as a member of the Nets.
The jerseys served as a consolation prize on a night when Nuggets coach Michael Malone felt his team should’ve won but praised his team’s spirit nonetheless. Malone said he had no intention of shutting his guys down until the playoffs. Pending their availability, Malone wanted to see his starters and his bench unit play together at least one more time before the postseason started.
“That’s the plan,” Malone said.
But against the Suns, the starters sat. That left Brown to tangle with Durant, Paul and Devin Booker.
Fortunately, Brown acknowledged he gets up for matchups like these. He deserved at least some of the credit for thwarting Booker and coercing him into a miserable 3-for-12 shooting night. Whether he was offering late contests, pressuring drives, or roving around screens like Booker’s shadow, Brown lived in his space. Should the Nuggets see the Suns in the postseason, it was a showing that could have a strong influence on defensive matchups and schemes.
“I look forward to guarding the best player every night,” Brown said, which doesn’t always happen when he’s playing alongside Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver’s first option on the perimeter. But the two will inevitably make a formidable combo in the postseason.
Malone praised Brown’s tenacity when hounding Booker. He relished the physicality that’s part of Brown’s dogged approach.
“That’s something that comes natural for Bruce Brown,” Malone said.
Offensively, Brown banged and burrowed his way deep into Phoenix’s paint. When a play called for muscle, Brown powered his way to where he wanted to go. When a finish mandated finesse, he flashed that ability, too. All 11 shots he made came inside the lane – a concerted effort, he said, knowing that the Suns were going to back off him on the perimeter.
“I can get to any spot I want,” Brown said.
Despite the loss, Brown wasn’t downtrodden. The Nuggets had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the West, and Brown was in a particularly chipper space. He’d spent the day watching the Masters and attributed his career-night to watching one of his other loves.
“I didn’t take a nap,” he said.
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