The lethal tag team of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant showed up and showed out. Booker had 30 points, and eight helpers and Durant put up 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Phoenix Suns comeback for a 120-113 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.
Bradley Beal, who has been the subject of trade rumors, added 15 points and six assists off the bench and the Suns went on a heater, scoring the game’s final nine points to post a third straight victory for the first time in over two months.
Sharpshooter Grayson Allen was extremely efficient in his limited time on the court, scoring 13 points in 13-plus minutes in the first half before sitting out the second with left knee soreness. Ryan Dunn contributed 11 points and Oso Ighodaro had 10.
Durant, the 18-year veteran out of Texas, has not lost a step at all, scoring at least 20 points in 15 straight appearances.
LaMelo Ball did a little bit of everything, with 25 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Hornets, who have dropped an unbelievable 19 of their past 21 games. It appears that they have accepted a culture of losing. Mark Williams had a season-best 24 points and 16 rebounds.
The matchup was the Hornets first since posting a 115-104 home win over the Suns on Tuesday. The Hornets had road games against the Lakers (Thursday) and Clippers (Saturday) postponed due to the horrific Los Angeles wildfires.
Miles Bridges had 21 points and Brandon Miller had 19 points and six assists for the Hornets, who at one point led by as many as 12. But double-digit is no longer safe in the NBA.
The Hornets knocked down 44.6 percent of their shot attempts and were 15 of 40 from distance.
Embed from Getty ImagesPhoenix was a tiny bit better though, shooting 48.3 percent from the field, including 17 of 41 from beyond the arc.
The Suns trailed by nine with just under seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before putting the game on ice with a 23-7 run.
Durant, like he has done so many times before, made back-to-back baskets to start a 14-4 surge. He also highlighted the burst with a jumper to give Phoenix a 111-110 edge with just over three minutes to go.
Miller drained a 3-pointer to push the Hornets back into the lead with 2:18 left. Ighodaro deposited two dunks for the Suns, and Royce O’Neale knocked down a trey to give the Suns a five-point advantage, 118-113, with 41.5 seconds left.
Booker calming swished two free throws with 28.2 seconds left to cap the closing 9-0 run.
The Hornets travel to Utah on Wednesday night, facing Collin Sexton and the Jazz.
The Suns are on the road at Atlanta squaring off against Trae Young and the Hawks on Tuesday night.
