What really makes this loss sting for Phoenix outside of losing to a subpar Spurs team without its best player is that Kevin Durant played 39 minutes in this game. Durant has played 39 minutes or above in each of Phoenix's last four contests he's been able to play in, and despite that, the Suns have lost all four.

The Suns were 25-25 at the trade deadline, and Durant was not willing to abort the mission. The team is now 26-28, and Durant is still not willing to abort the mission. "Obviously, when you pay so much for a team, and we're not playing up to our expectation, somebody has to go," Durant said.

The Phoenix Suns (26-28) play their second of a five-game road trip at the San Antonio Spurs (23-29) in Austin on Thursday.

"There's beauty in the struggle and all that stuff, especially when you come out of the other side of things, and you realize that pressure and hard times make you better, so I think we can pull from these experiences to get better and use them for next games,