Durant dazzles as Suns sink Mavs
Curry tastes defeat on return
Kevin Durant produced a 37-point masterpiece as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks while Steph Curry’s return from injury was not enough to prevent Golden State falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA on Sunday (Monday, Phl time).
In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks made it nine straight wins with a thrilling victory in double overtime against the second-placed Boston Celtics.
A packed slate of NBA games featured two heavyweight fixtures in the Western Conference, with Durant going up against former Brooklyn team-mate Kyrie Irving as the Suns traveled to Dallas, where they claimed a nail-biting 130-126 victory.
In Los Angeles, Curry’s return was a further boost to the in-form Warriors but it was the Lakers who claimed a precious 113-105 win to keep their playoff hopes on track.
Phoenix’s clash with Dallas lived up to the hype, with 13 lead changes in a contest that went down to the wire.
Durant, traded to Phoenix in a blockbuster move from the Nets last month, delivered a signature clutch performance to guide the Suns to victory.
The 34-year-old scored the goahead basket with less than 12 seconds remaining before adding two late free throws to ice the game.
Durant received support from Devin Booker, who added 36 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, while Chris Paul added 11 points.
“Dallas star Luka Doncic finished with 34 points, with Irving contributing 30 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. adding 21 off the bench.
Phoenix improved to 36-29 to stay in fourth spot in the West while Dallas fell to 33-32. The Mavs are in seventh, just outside the automatic postseason places.
In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis once again came up big for the Lakers in the absence of the injured LeBron James to help secure victory over the Warriors.