CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant scored 37 points and Devin Booker scored 27 in his return from a sprained right ankle, rallying the Phoenix Suns to a 117-111 victory over the injury-depleted Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
Durant also had eight rebounds and six assists for the Suns, who are one game ahead of Sacramento for sixth place in the Western Conference. Booker had missed four games due to his injury, but played a good 38 minutes and had seven assists and six rebounds.
“Book’s communication has always been on point, but his intangibles are what we’ve missed the most,” Durant said. “It’s good to have him with his talent and I’m happy that he was also able to get his feet wet in a close match.”
Phoenix trailed 63-44 midway through the second quarter, but responded with a 43-15 run that ended deep in the third. Booker then put the Suns ahead for good at 106-104 by scoring in transition with seven minutes remaining.
The Suns began a four-game road trip that includes matchups against Eastern powers Boston and Milwaukee. Bradley Beal scored 24 points, Grayson Allen scored 14 and Jusuf Nurkic added nine points and eight rebounds.
“We’re fortunate to be among the elite with (Durant, Booker and Beal), so we’re grateful to have them all back,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said. “This type of game becomes a fight, but you could see the work Devin did in his absence. He had an excellent performance.
Darius Garland scored 30 points and Caris LeVert had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland trailed 113-111 with 51 seconds on the clock before Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro committed back-to-back turnovers to end its comeback hopes.
The Cavaliers, third in the East, were without shooting guard Donovan Mitchell for a seventh straight game because of left knee soreness. They are also missing starting forwards Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and Max Strus (right knee sprain).
“We know we’re capable of winning these kinds of games no matter who we have,” LeVert said. “After they threw a punch, I feel like we kept fighting back, but they got hot and it was hard to stop them.”
Garland scored 21 points in the first quarter and had 25 in the first half as the Cavaliers held a 70-63 advantage into the break. Cleveland has lost two straight home games, losing 120-101 to Brooklyn on Sunday.
After missing his 18th game of the season, Mitchell is ineligible for All-NBA selection. The five-time All-Star is the league’s fifth-leading scorer at 28.0 points per game and ranks third in steals.
“I don’t know if the number of games required is the right number,” Vogel said. “To see guys like Donovan and (76ers center Joel) Embiid left out, it doesn’t look good.”
Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff agrees, saying, “Everyone knows Donovan Mitchell is an All-NBA player and had an All-NBA season.”
FOLLOWING
Suns: At Boston Thursday night.
Cavaliers: At New Orleans Wednesday night.
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