Devin Booker #1 and Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns stand on court during a time out from the second half of the NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Footprint Center March 29, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
Devin Booker scored 29 points and the Phoenix Suns celebrated the return of Kevin Durant to the lineup with their third straight win as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 on Wednesday.
Durant was back after missing 10 games for a ankle sprain, and he recorded 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes while shooting 5-for-18 from the floor. The 13-time All-Star made his home debut after being acquired by the Brooklyn Nets at the close of last month.
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 for Minnesota (39-38), who had ended their four-game winning streak. Naz Reid scored 15 points and Rudy Gobert had a game high with 15 rebounds.
Phoenix (41-35) remains a half game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference playoff race. Chris Paul scored 19 points and Cameron Payne added 11 for the Suns while Deandre Ayton and Josh Okogie each contributed 10 chips.
Minnesota, who hold the No. 7 West, drew within 101-97 at Edwards 3-pointers with 2:04 remaining before the Suns scored six of the game’s last nine points to secure the win.
“It feels good. I miss playing, I miss being with the boys… Every day I try to be the best I can… So I look forward to continuing to build.”
🗣️ KD talks about how it felt to get back on the pitch and play with the team again. pic.twitter.com/ubd6IxoMOK
— Phoenix Suns (@suns) March 30, 2023
Durant was kept scoreless in the first quarter, which ended with Phoenix taking a 25-24 lead. Durant missed his first six shots from the field before tying the game at 38 with just over five minutes into halftime.
Minnesota led 51-48 at the break after limiting the Suns to 38.9 percent shooting, including 2-of-9 from 3-point range. Towns had 20 points to lead all scorers. Durant ended the half with three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 13 minutes.
Minnesota extended their lead to 10 points after opening the third quarter with a 9-2 run. Phoenix then surpassed Wolves 31-14 to advance into the final third by seven.
The Timberwolves shot from the foul line 8 of 12 (66.7 percent), compared to 21 of 27 (77.8 percent) for the Suns.
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