Chicago Bulls' Billy Donovan opens up on why he respects Kevin Durant a lot : "There was absolutely zero fear in him at all"

Kevin Durant’s sizzling night wasn’t enough to carry the Brooklyn Nets on the road against the Chicago Bulls. KD dropped 44 points in the Nets’ 121-112 loss, which snapped their 12-game winning streak.

Chicago came out hot in the first half, but Durant kept the Nets in the game. He scored a season-high first half with 28 points to keep Brooklyn within striking distance.

After the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan had nothing but praise for Kevin Durant:

“The greatest thing that I ever saw with Kevin, besides all the preparation, the work that he does, he is not afraid of the moment. He leans into the moment, he embraces that and there are certain guys that don’t want any part of that, quite honestly.

"He thrives in that. There was absolutely zero fear in him at all. He’ll go for it. That’s the thing I respect about him more than anything else in my short amount of time with him.”

Durant is averaging 29.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He is the single biggest reason why the Brooklyn Nets have turned their season around. KD is shooting a career-high 56.4% from the field on a wide variety of shots, with defenders usually draped all over him.

Amid Kyrie Irving’s suspension, Ben Simmons' unreliability and Brooklyn’s assortment of injuries, Kevin Durant has been a steadying force. His excellence and calming presence has catapulted the Nets from near the bottom of the East to a share of the lead.

In the playoffs last season, several were calling him over the hill in the series against the Boston Celtics. Boston held one of NBA history’s most unstoppable scoring machines to just 26.3 points on just 38.6% shooting, including 33.3% from deep.

Kevin Durant also had an offseason of discontent where he demanded to be traded and then asked for the now-former head coach to be fired. With Nash out of the way eight games into the season, KD has led the Nets’ resurgence to the top of the NBA record-wise.

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The Chicago Bulls’ balanced scoring was too much for Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets

The Chicago Bulls' balanced attack was enough to offset Kevin Durant's big night.

The Chicago Bulls starting five scored at least 10 points. Patrick Williams and DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Bulls with 22 points apiece. Coming off the bench, Colby White had 10 while Derrick Jones Jr. had eight.

Chicago’s balanced scoring was just about enough to make up for Kevin Durant’s sizzling night. DeRozan, in particular, was a problem Brooklyn couldn’t solve in the fourth quarter. The All-Star guard/forward dropped 10 of his points in a pivotal period to help the Bulls hold off the Nets.

Considering the Brooklyn Nets’ form, this has to be the Chicago Bulls’ most impressive win of the season. Durant was on fire throughout the game and yet the Bulls kept their composure and came out winners.

The win has improved Chicago’s record to 17-21 to keep them within striking distance of a play-in spot.