Kevin Durant's 37 points rallies Phoenix Suns over shorthanded Cavs

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 37 points and Devin Booker had 27 in his return from a right ankle sprain, rallying the Phoenix Suns to a 117-111 victory over the injury-depleted Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.

Durant also had eight rebounds and six assists for the Suns, who are one game ahead of Sacramento for sixth place in the Western Conference. Booker had missed four games with his injury, but played 38 strong minutes and had seven assists and six boards.

Phoenix trailed 63-44 midway through the second quarter, but answered with a 43-15 run that ended deep in the third. Booker later put the Suns ahead for good at 106-104 by scoring in transition with seven minutes remaining.

Darius Garland scored 30 points and Caris LeVert had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland trailed 113-111 with 51 seconds on the clock before Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro committed back-to-back turnovers to end its comeback hopes.

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Cleveland, which is third in the East, was without shooting guard Donovan Mitchell for the seventh straight game because of left knee soreness. The Cavs also are missing starting forwards Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and Max Strus (right knee strain).

The Suns began a four-game trip that includes contests against East powers Boston and Milwaukee. Bradley Beal had 24 points and Jusuf Nurkic added nine points and eight rebounds.

Garland scored 21 points in the first quarter and had 25 in the opening half as the Cavaliers carried a 70-63 advantage into the break. Cleveland lost back-to-back home games, falling 120-101 to Brooklyn on Sunday.

As a result of missing his 18th game of the season, Mitchell is ineligible for All-NBA consideration. The five-time All-Star is the fifth-leading scorer in the league at 28.0 points per game and ranks third in steals.

“I don’t know if the number of games required is the right number,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “To see guys like Donovan and (76ers center Joel) Embiid left out, that does not feel right.”

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Up next on the schedule:

Suns: At Boston on Thursday night.

Cavaliers: At New Orleans on Wednesday night.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kevin Durant's 37 points rallies Phoenix Suns over Cleveland Cavs