One game after facing the first team in the Eastern Conference, the Phoenix Suns kicked off a four-game road series Monday by visiting current No. 3 in the East, Cleveland Cavaliers.
Phoenix lost 117-107 to the Boston Celtics on Saturday despite Kevin Durant’s 45 points. The Suns finished a seven-game streak, in which they played six games at home, at 4-3 after the loss. They played the last four games of this stretch without Devin Booker.
Suns coach Frank Vogel told reporters before Saturday’s game that Booker is “not quite there” for his return from the right ankle injury he suffered in the loss to Phoenix on March 2 against the Houston Rockets. However, Vogel said he was “pleasantly surprised” by Booker’s progress in training sessions.
Grayson Allen helped fill the marked void. He scored 28 points in a win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and 26 points on Thursday in a win over the Toronto Raptors.
Allen set a franchise mark with seven three-pointers in the first quarter against Toronto. But he struggled against Boston, going 0 of 4 from beyond the arc and finishing with just seven points.
“I wish Grayson had more looks,” Durant said after Saturday’s game. “I’m sure every team emphasizes (attempting 40 3-pointers per game). It’s hard to get that many threes. You have to make stops, to begin with, and you have to get out in transition. “
The Cavaliers are holding opponents to 109.4 points per game, tied for third in the league, and allowing 12.1 three-pointers per game, eighth in the NBA.
Battling various injuries on Sunday, the Cavaliers had an unusually porous defensive struggle in their 120-101 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets shot 18 of 35 from 3-point range and 53.2 percent from the floor. The 120 points are the most Cleveland has allowed in regulation since its 123-121 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on February 12.
The Cavaliers played Sunday without star guard Donovan Mitchell, who missed his sixth straight game with a knee injury.
Evan Mobley missed his third straight Sunday with a sprained left ankle. Cleveland was also without Max Strus, who missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury.
“When we let teams engage us in transition. It’s a lot harder to come back than when we suppress teams and keep them on one side of the ball,” Georges Niang, who scored a game-high 20 points on Sunday his team. , Cleveland told Bally Sports. “We’re definitely going to have to do it (Monday) night.”
–Field level media
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