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SALT LAKE CITY — The good news is the Utah Jazz won't have to see Kevin Durant again until February.
That still might not be enough time to recover from Durant's weekend in Utah.
In a scene eerily similar to Friday, Durant rose up over a defender to deliver what looked to be the final dagger for the Phoenix Suns in a 140-137 win in double overtime over the Jazz
Sunday's edition came with 35.6 seconds left in the first overtime as Durant elevated over Keyonte George to beat the shot clock and buried a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 5-point lead.
Turns out, though, it wasn't. Not by a long shot.
After a missed Suns' free throw gave the Jazz life, Collin Sexton came up with the game-extending play. He crashed to the hoop, grabbed an offensive board, and put it in off the glass and into the basket as the first overtime horn sounded.
All that did was give Durant another chance to make another game-winning play — this time on the defensive end.
Durant blocked Lauri Markkanen's game-tying 3-point attempt at the final buzzer to at long last clinch Phoenix's win over the Jazz at the end of the second overtime period.
That play, though, didn't come without some drama.
The block was initially called a foul, which would have sent Markkanen to the line with a chance to tie the game. Phoenix head coach Frank Vogel immediately signaled for a challenge. After a lengthy review, the officials deemed it a legal block.
"In our opinion, there was clear and conclusive evidence that Durant made legal contact to the basketball blocking the shot first," referee Zach Zarba told a pool reporter after the game. "That's why the challenge was ruled successful."
With that, the game was over.
"A lot of deep breathing and just positive thinking. You can't really harp on it if you try to make the most out of it and watch film and take what you can from it," John Collins said. "These hurt."
As heartbreaking as the weekend was, there were positives to take away from the mini-series against the Suns.
"Proud of the team and the way they fought. I really wanted this win for the team. I think they've put in a lot of work, they've stuck together, and I really thought tonight they deserved to win," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "So they'll keep working and fighting, but I do think that there's been a lot of really positive signs in terms of how the team is playing."
Among those positives: how the defense improved from Friday's thriller, the continued offensive execution, and the overall competitiveness of the group. The two-game set was a far cry from how the team looked during a four-game losing streak that included lopsided defeats to Minnesota, Chicago and Indiana.
Another bright spot was Markkanen going toe-to-toe with a future Hall-of-Famer. It was poetic, in a sense, that the game ended with a play involving both Markkanen and Durant since both put their teams on their backs.
Durant had 39 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds; Markkanen answered with 38 points and 17 rebounds. It created a fun back-and-forth of a game that had a bit of everything: big shots, comebacks, buzzer beaters and a bit of controversy, too.
"He's done so much for the game. It's a pleasure to compete against him every time," Markkanen said. "Obviously, he's a heckuva player, and he did his job against us for sure. He's a player I watch film a lot on. It's a pleasure to be able to share the court and compete against that type of player. There's a lot of things I can learn from him."
Markkanen learned something about his own team Sunday, too.
"Obviously, you want to win that kind of game, but it didn't happen tonight," he said. "But we showed that we can play with these guys, and we're moving on to the next one."
