Durant scores 42 points, Suns hand Cavaliers 4th straight loss 123-112
Baku, March 22, AZERTAC
Kevin Durant scored 42 points and the Phoenix Suns defeated the suddenly struggling Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 on Friday night, according to AP.
It was the Suns’ third straight win and kept them in a tie with Dallas for the final play-in spot in the West at 34-37.
Devin Booker scored 17 points and Tyus Jones scored 16. Royce O’Neale had 15 points on five 3-pointers for Phoenix.
Cleveland, which saw its 16-game winning streak snapped by Orlando on Sunday, has now lost a season-high four in a row to fall two games behind Oklahoma City for the NBA’s best record. Their 56-14 mark still leads the East comfortably.
Darius Garland scored 18 points for Cleveland. Evan Mobley had 16 points and 12 rebounds and former Sun Ty Jerome also scored 16 for the Cavs. All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored just seven points.
The Suns were without Bradley Beal (hamstring) and their top two centers, Nick Richards (calf) and Mason Plumlee (quad). Third-stringer Oso Ighodaro played a game-high 44 minutes and had a team-high 13 rebounds.
O’Neale hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the second quarter to put the Suns ahead 47-38 and they maintained the lead from then on. They led 62-51 at the half.
James Harden scored 30 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers used a big second half to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-108 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.
In another game, Deni Avdija had 36 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 128-109 win over the Denver Nuggets, who were without star center Nikola Jokic for the third straight game.
