The Phoenix Suns welcomed Kevin Durant’s return to the lineup on Wednesday by defeating the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 behind 29 points from Devin Booker.
Durant scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out four assists in 29 minutes while shooting 5-for-18 from the field. The 13-time All-Star made his debut at home after being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline last month.
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 points for Minnesota (39-38), which saw its four-game winning run come to an end. Rudy Gobert had a game-high 15 rebounds, while Naz Reid tallied 15 points.
Phoenix (41-35) maintains a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers (41-35) for the fourth and final playoff place in the Western Conference. Chris Paul scored 19 points and Cameron Payne added 11, while Deandre Ayton and Josh Okogie both contributed 10 points for the Suns.
Kevin Durant comes back, and the Suns beat the Wolves.
Edwards’ 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining brought the No. 7 team in the West, Minnesota, to within 101-97 before the Suns scored six of the final nine points to win the victory.
Durant was kept scoreless in the first period, in which Phoenix maintained a 25-24 advantage. Durant missed his first six field goal attempts before tying the game at 38 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
The Timberwolves led 51-48 at halftime after holding the Suns to 38.9 percent shooting, including 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. Towns’s 20 points were the most among all scorers. Durant finished the first half with three points on a 1-of-8 shooting performance in 13 minutes.
After beginning the third quarter on a 9-2 run, Minnesota increased their advantage to 10 points. The Suns then outscored the Wolves 31-14 to take a seven-point lead entering the final round.
Suns: 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) compared to Timberwolves: 8-for-12 (66.7 percent).