Kevin Durant loves where the Phoenix Suns are heading into Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers, which is knotted 1-1.

Kevin Durant has mentioned it a few times, but it has fallen on deaf ears.Going 8-0 with him in the starting lineup during the regular

season gave credence to the notion that Phoenix would just ride into the playoffs.

Five of the Suns' seven regular-season opponents with Durant did not even make the playoffs. They had two games against Denver.

So, after Phoenix won Game 2 on Tuesday to even the first-round series, Durant reminded everyone how those eight games went down and

seems optimistic heading into Game 3 on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena. "We played some solid ball toward the end of the season,

but there's not much you can take away from that," Durant said. "A lot of clubs weren't using their best players. 

This is the first meaningful look at us as a team against some tough competition. I enjoy where we're at. 

We unfortunately lost Game 1, but a win is always welcome. "I'm excited for the next game." In that 8-0 run, the Suns only defeated two playoff teams:

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