DURANT NETS 33 POINTS IN RETURN
Long a superstar, Kevin Durant is turning into a super sub.
Durant came off the bench to score 33 points in his latest return from injury, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the visiting Phoenix Suns 128-119 on Sunday in a matchup of two of the NBA’s
Nets 128, Suns 119
top teams.
Durant missed three games after bruising his left thigh early in a loss to Miami last Sunday. He played 28 minutes and shot 12 for 21.
“It was a good start. Hopefully, I’ll build on this game and keep going,” Durant said.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and Blake Griffin had 15 to help the Eastern Conference leaders improve to 25-7 at home and 20-6 against West teams.
Devin Booker scored 36 points and Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, the No. 2 team in the West who have lost consecutive games for the first time since a threegame skid in January.
“I thought we started off pretty well, they just continued to make shots,” Booker said. “I think we had a lot of miscommunications on a lot of our switches and that’s that.”
Phoenix led for much of the first half but Brooklyn pulled away after halftime, when Durant played his normal minutes after not coming into the game until the second quarter so the Nets could keep his minutes down and he could play down the stretch if it was close.
The Nets used the same strategy when Durant returned from a lengthy layoff with a hamstring injury on April 7 against New Orleans, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes. He has played just 25 games this season and had never come off the bench in an NBA game until this year.
“The thing I love the most is that we all know, one of my favorite things about him is how much he just loves to play basketball,” Griffin said. “So you know when he’s sitting out it’s just like killing him, so just to see that joy of just being able to play basketball again is fun for us.”
Warriors 117, Kings 113:
Stephen Curry scored 37 points and set an NBA record for 3-pointers in a month at 85, leading host Golden State past Sacramento.
Kelly Oubre Jr.’s jumper with 1:42 left put Golden State ahead 112-111 before Richaun Holmes missed a pair of free throws at the 1:25 mark, then Draymond Green scored moments later.
Curry shot 11 of 21 with seven more 3-pointers after the two-time MVP rolled his right ankle during Friday’s win against Denver but didn’t consider it serious or seem hobbled. His April total surpassed James Harden’s NBA record of 82 in November 2019.
Hawks 111, Bucks 104:
Lou Williams made four 3pointers in the final seven minutes, including a jumper that gave host Atlanta its first lead of the second half, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 32 points and the Hawks beat Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points with 14 rebounds for the Bucks.
Hornets 125, Celtics 104:
Devonte Graham had 24 points and nine assists and P.J. Washington added 22 points and 12 rebounds in host Charlotte’s victory over Boston.
Grizzlies 120, Trail Blazers 113: Ja Morant had 28 points and visiting Memphis beat Portland for the second time in three days. CJ McCollum had 27 points for the Blazers.
Wizards 119, Cavaliers 110: Bradley Beal scored 33 points and host Washington rallied to beat Cleveland for its eighth straight victory.
Pacers 131, Magic 112:
Malcolm Brogdan had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead visiting Indiana to the win.