Phoenix’s big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal combined to score 88 points, led by Durant’s 37, and the visiting Suns beat the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 117-111 on Monday.
Phoenix, which began a four-game road trip, overcame a slow start in which it fell behind by as many as 19 points in the second quarter.
Beal scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor, part of Phoenix’s 54.8 percent shooting overall. In his return from a four-game absence caused by a sprained right ankle, Booker scored 27 points.
Booker did much of his work inside the 3-point arc. On a night when he shot just 1 of 7 from long range, Booker made 10 of 15 on 2-point field goal attempts.
Behind Durant, who grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists to reach his highest scoring total of the game, the Suns chipped away at the deficit before taking a lead they never relinquished midway through the third quarter. time.
However, Phoenix’s advantage never exceeded nine points, as Darius Garland and Caris LeVert each helped keep Cleveland within reach. Garland scored 30 points and accounted for nearly half of the Cavaliers’ 15 3-pointers, going 7 of 10 from deep.
LeVert recorded 17 points and 11 assists while replacing Donovan Mitchell, who missed his seventh straight game with a knee injury.
Cleveland was also without Evan Mobley. Jarrett Allen shouldered most of the interior responsibility with Mobley out with a sprained ankle, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers also got 13 points each from Craig Porter Jr. and Isaac Okoro. Porter had a baseline dunk that brought Cleveland within three points with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter.
Porter also made two free throws with 1:30 remaining to bring the Cavaliers within 113-111. Allen put the ball inside with a chance to tie after a Durant miss, but he lost control of the ball. Phoenix’s Grayson Allen and Booker each made two free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
Phoenix improved to 3-1 in its last four games, while Cleveland fell to 1-3 in its last four games, suffering its second loss in as many nights.
— Field media/Reuters
