'It's OK': Monty Williams encourages Kevin Durant during rare off night

Monty Williams saw Kevin Durant going through an 0-for-6 start in his Suns home debut Wednesday night against Minnesota and couldn’t let him get down on himself.

“What you shaking your head for?” said Williams, as he was captured saying that to Durant during the ESPN telecast. “It’s part of it. Greatness doesn’t shake his head.”

Williams explained after Thursday’s practice what led him to deliver those words of encouragement to Durant at that particular time in the first half of Phoenix’s 107-100 victory.

“I think the one thing I understand about players is everybody needs encouragement, whether it’s a coach, starter, role player, but I think sometimes we forget that the great ones, it can be lonely sometimes and sometimes you just need somebody to tell you it’s OK.”

Durant missed 13 shots on his 16-point night (5-of-18 shooting) Wednesday.

“I probably don’t do it enough with guys that carry that much of a burden or load,” Williams continued. “So, in that moment, I was just trying to encourage him because I know how bad he wants to produce and play well. He’s all about the team.”

Putting that number in perspective, Durant missed 13 shots total in averaging 26.7 points in his first three games with the Suns (41-35).

“It’s frustrating, but I’ve been in this position before,” Durant said after the game. “Had slow starts before. So, I just tried to figure it out. I think a couple of those shots, I definitely were rushing, trying to get it all back at once. I can get in my own way sometimes thinking too much, trying to get those shots back, but try to settle in as much as I can.”

At halftime, Durant changed his shoes after going 1-of-8 from the field.

“I was trying to find something,” a smiling Durant said. “I tried to find something, but I made more shots in the second half. So I guess it helped.”

Devin Booker had fun with it when asked if the players talked with Durant during his slow start.

“What you gonna tell him?” a smiling Booker said.

No worries from Booker about Durant’s off night, considering this was Durant’s home debut before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

The Suns conclude their two-game homestand Friday against West leader Denver.

“He’s good,” Booker continued. “You know his name. He knows what he is doing. Like he said, he was probably just amped up, geeked to get out there and felt the pressure, felt the anxiety. That’s a one-game thing. That’s over with. It was a one-quarter, one-half thing. He found it in the second half. It’s only up from here.”