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PHOENIX \u2014 The comparison surfaced not long after Kevin Durant<\/a> finished off the Chicago Bulls<\/a> on Monday. In the final seconds, the Phoenix Suns<\/a> forward buried a double-pump, did-he-just-do-that jumper to give the Suns a 115-113 win.<\/p>\n WATCHING ON REPLAY ALL NIGHT LONG! pic.twitter.com\/EEw60HC8Uf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you thought Durant\u2019s incredible shot resembled Michael Jordan\u2019s iconic double-pump jumper to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> in Game 5 of the first round of the 1989 playoffs, you\u2019re not alone. A couple of the Bulls from that very team agree.<\/p>\n An analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, Will Perdue watched Monday night\u2019s game from a studio in Chicago. As soon as he saw Durant\u2019s shot drop, he immediately recognized the significance.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a double-pump!\u201d said Perdue, who was in his rookie season out of Vanderbilt with the Bulls during the 1989 playoffs. \u201cThat\u2019s the same thing Jordan did against (Craig) Ehlo in \u201989. I was there!\u201d<\/p>\n Those around him weren\u2019t convinced.<\/p>\n \u201cWatch it again,\u201d Perdue said.<\/p>\n Obviously, the circumstances were different. Chicago\u2019s win in 1989 came in a first-round elimination game, win or go home. Phoenix\u2019s game Monday night unfolded during the middle of the season. And unlike the 1989 game, when Chicago trailed Cleveland 100-99 when Jordan got the ball, this game was tied when Suns guard Grayson Allen<\/a> prepared to inbound with 6.3 seconds left.<\/p>\n But like 1989, everybody in the building knew where the ball was going. In 1989, it was Jordan. On Monday at Footprint Center, it was Durant. Jordan had to double-pump to keep Ehlo from blocking it. Durant had to do so to keep streaking Alex Caruso<\/a> from deflecting it from behind.<\/p>\n Phoenix\u2019s inbounds pass went to big man Jusuf Nurkic<\/a>, who dished back to Durant. Chicago\u2019s went directly to Jordan. Durant took one left-handed dribble. Jordan took two.<\/p>\n Durant double-pumped and shot from 17 \u2014 good.<\/p>\n Jordan double-pumped and shot from 17 \u2014 good.<\/p>\n In a telephone interview Wednesday, Perdue said he remembered Jordan\u2019s shot like it was yesterday. In 1989, he was stuck behind Bill Cartwright and Dave Corzine in the Bulls\u2019 rotation. The play had unfolded on the far end of the court, away from the Chicago bench. Perdue stood on the baseline in Cleveland\u2019s Richfield Coliseum. He saw Jordan jump. He saw him double-pump.<\/p>\n On Monday, he saw Durant do the same, changing his shot mid-air because Durant saw Caruso coming from behind.<\/p>\n \u201cCaruso almost blocked it \u2014 and there\u2019s a defender in the front?\u201d Perdue said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of those things, it\u2019s almost like spidey sense. He\u2019s got a third eye. Or an eye in the back of his head or something. \u2026 The perfect timing of the pump and then to take it back up, after Caruso had swung through to go up and shoot it. And if you notice, it was so pure the net barely moved.\u201d<\/p>\n How hard is it to make such a shot?<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, like taking a car that\u2019s going 100 mph, jam on the brakes, throw it in reverse and go the opposite direction,\u201d Perdue said. \u201cAnd then still jam it back in first gear and go back the way you\u2019re going. To try to be able to stop all that inertia in order to do that, on a scale of 1 to 10, it\u2019s 12.\u201d<\/p>\n The similarities don\u2019t end with Durant\u2019s final shot. In fact, his performance Monday night pretty much mirrored Jordan\u2019s from 1989. Check this out:<\/p>\n In the first half \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Durant was 4 of 13 from the field.<\/em><\/p>\n Jordan was 5 of 13.<\/em><\/p>\n In the second half \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Durant scored 30 points.<\/em><\/p>\n Jordan scored 30 points.<\/em><\/p>\n In the fourth quarter \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Durant scored 17 points.<\/em><\/p>\n Jordan scored 17 points.<\/em><\/p>\n For the game \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Durant finished 16 of 32 for 43 points.<\/em><\/p>\n Jordan finished 17 of 32 for 44.<\/em><\/p>\n In 1989, Sam Vincent was a reserve guard for the Bulls. In the Game 5 win over the Cavs, he played eight minutes, collecting two points and two assists. He was on the bench when Jordan broke Cleveland\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n \u201cWe realized how big the moment was in terms of the win and advancing in the playoffs, but we didn\u2019t realize the history that would be created around \u2018The Shot,’\u201d Vincent said. \u201cA very impactful shot. An amazing shot. One of many for Michael. But it had significant importance for how the Bulls kind of grew up from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Vincent missed Durant\u2019s shot. As men\u2019s basketball coach at Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla., he was watching film Monday night, preparing for Friday\u2019s game against Keep Striving Prep. But after The Athletic<\/em> sent him the video, Vincent agreed to take a look.<\/p>\n His reaction: Oh, wow.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter looking at it a couple times,\u201d Vincent said, \u201cI did see the incredible, uncanny comparison to that shot Michael took in Cleveland.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Kevin Durant did tonight, that was special.\u201d \ud83c\udfa5 Relive KD\u2019s game-winner from all angles. pic.twitter.com\/ckmqI30c6U<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Vincent said both players used their unique skills to their advantage. For Jordan, it was his ability to hang. (\u201cI don\u2019t see how he stayed in the air that long,\u201d stunned Cleveland center Brad Daugherty had said after the 1989 game.) For Durant, it was his length<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a shot that you practice, but I think a shot that you do<\/em> practice \u2014 which I know Michael practiced a lot and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve seen footage of Kevin doing it as well \u2014 and that\u2019s being able to take a hard penetration dribble to a spot and then really elevate,\u201d Vincent said. \u201cYou practice that shot over and over and in a game, the defense closes out. But because you worked on that shot, it\u2019s a little bit easier to maneuver the ball to be able to get that shot off.\u201d<\/p>\n Durant, 35, has played well all season, but lately he\u2019s taken his game to a higher level. The Western Conference Player of the Week, he had 40 points in a home win over Indiana<\/a>. A night later, he torched the Bulls. On Wednesday, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists as Phoenix routed Dallas<\/a>, 132-109.\u00a0 After a slow start, Phoenix (26-18) has won seven in a row. Suddenly, those preseason championship hopes do not look so unrealistic.<\/p>\n In his 17th season, Durant has played a leading role in the reversal.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that the Phoenix Suns fans truly understand what they\u2019re witnessing,\u201d Perdue said. \u201cAnd this has nothing to do with age. This has to do with greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n (Photo of Durant\u2019s game-winner Monday against the Bulls: Garrett Ellwood \/ NBAE via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u2013 Head Coach Frank Vogel<\/p>\n