Kevin Durant poured in 41 points and the visiting Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Detroit Pistons 120-106 on Sunday afternoon.
Durant added five assists, four rebounds and two blocks. Eric Gordon had 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and Grayson Allen supplied 14 points.
The Suns were playing their first regular-season game against former coach Monty Williams, whom Phoenix fired after last season.
Suns guard Devin Booker (right calf strain) missed his second straight game. Detroit sixth man Jaden Ivey was a late scratch due to an illness.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 26 points and six assists. Rookie Marcus Sasser had a season-high 22 points to go with four assists off the bench, but Detroit lost for the fourth straight time.
Ausar Thompson contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals. Killian Hayes chipped in 13 points.
The game was tied at 32 early in the second quarter. The Suns then went on an 18-3 run, sparked by Gordon. He scored the first seven points and added another basket during that span. Yuta Watanabe contributed a four-point play.
Detroit answered with a 12-2 spurt, capped by a Sasser 3-pointer. Phoenix nudged the lead to nine, 58-49, by halftime.
Durant scored 17 points in the first half, while Cunningham topped Detroit with 13. However, Cunningham also committed five turnovers.
Durant knocked down a 3-pointer during the first minute of the second half to give the Suns a double-digit lead. Phoenix’s lead grew to 17, 73-56, when Gordon buried his second 3-pointer of the quarter.
Durant scored seven points in a 44-second span to increase the lead to 80-61. The Pistons scored the next seven points and got within 10 points on multiple occasions. Durant fired in a 20-foot shot in the closing seconds of the quarter to make it 92-80.
Gordon showed off his distribution skills early in the fourth, assisting on three straight baskets to give Phoenix a 99-82 lead.
The Pistons never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
