Kevin Durant: Suns 'Embarrassed Ourselves' and Fans in Loss to Anthony Edwards, Wolves

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant was direct when assessing his team's 116-98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

"We didn't play up to our standards at all," he told reporters after the defeat. "We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better."

The game was a microcosm of Phoenix's fortunes since building its roster around the Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal triumvirate.

KD had a team-high 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Booker and Beal combined for 35 points. Altogether that's solid production from the Suns' three best players, yet they were blown out by 18 points.

The dispiriting thing for the team and its fanbase is that there's little reason to hope things will improve on the court.

Phoenix is 3-11 since the start of February. It ranks 19th in net rating (minus-2.2), per NBA.com. There's a sense of inevitability about Durant being traded in the summer.

An increasingly inescapable conclusion is that the Suns don't have another level to reach. This is a flawed roster and its stars aren't rallying together in the face of adversity.

Booker said Saturday that matchups against the Timberwolves and other contenders "should be playoff feel type games from here on out the rest of the season."

Then the Suns went out and laid an egg.

Durant thought the performance wasn't up to their usual level. Others who have watched Phoenix over the last two seasons might disagree because it was fairly characteristic of a squad that hasn't lived up to expectations.