Kevin Durant returns to spark Suns win against Lakers in NBA Cup

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 127-100 following the return of Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant.

After taking two weeks off, Kevin Durant wasted no time in getting to work.

He set the tone for the remainder of the quarter by making his first three-point try of the game.

Beal's return and Durant's 14 points gave the Suns a 62-60 lead.

Phoenix decided to retain their starters in the game for the remainder of the quarter because the Suns had a commanding lead for the last 12 minutes and the NBA Cup uses point difference as a tiebreaker.

Los Angeles is now on a three-game losing run and has lost their first NBA Cup game, while the Suns end a five-game losing streak and move to 10-7.

Durant, Beal, and Booker—the three mainstays of Phoenix—all finished with more than 23 points.

Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and Oso Ighodaro all had significant contributions off the bench, and Jusuf Nurkic pitched in a 12–12 double-double.

LeBron James finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 25 points and 15 rebounds.