Kevin Durant: 'No Emotions at All' Facing Kyrie Irving for 1st Time Since Trades

During the Phoenix Suns' win against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, former Brooklyn Nets teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving met as opponents for the first time since their respective trades last month.

After getting the win, Durant was asked how it felt to be playing against Irving, and he responded: "No emotions at all. It's another game."

Durant scored a team-high 37 points to lead Phoenix to a 130-126 road victory at American Airlines Center. It was his highest-scoring outing in three games with the Suns since returning from a sprained MCL that held him out since Jan. 8. Irving scored 30 points for Dallas in the loss.

Phoenix acquired Durant from Brooklyn just days after Irving was shipped to Dallas following his trade request that came just six days before the Feb. 9 trade deadline. The two of them had signed with the Nets together prior to the 2019-20 season, but their partnership resulted in minimal on-court success, as they won just one playoff series during their time in Brooklyn.

After the trades occurred, Durant admitted that Irving's trade request was "tough for me to stomach" because he felt it was "a blow to our team" and "it took away our identity."

Now, the two of them stand in each other's way of competing for an NBA championship this year. This was the last regular-season matchup between the Suns and the Mavs, but they could end up meeting in the playoffs.

Sunday's win gave Phoenix a 36-29 record, which ranks fourth in the Western Conference, while Dallas fell to seventh with a 33-32 record. The two teams had a contentious series in the Western Conference semifinals last year, so another postseason matchup between them would be even more intriguing.