DETROIT — Devin Booker scored 30 points and JaVale McGee added 20 as the Phoenix Suns beat the Detroit Pistons 135-108 on Sunday.
“I was just hitting shots and the guys were getting me the ball in good places,” said Booker, who grew up in western Michigan. “I never got to see the Pistons play in person very often — I grew up about two hours west of here — so I love coming here to play what was my favorite team growing up.”
Cameron Payne added 19 points for Phoenix (33-9), which has won six of seven. The Suns had six players in double figures.
“We had two 39-point quarters, so we were obviously hitting shots,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Detroit wears teams out by getting into the paint and getting to the line, and we were able to stay away from a lot of that.”
Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham finished with 21 points before being ejected in the third quarter.
Cory Joseph also scored 21 for Detroit, which is 5-4 in 2022 after finishing 2021 with 18 losses in 19 games.
“That’s a championship-tier team, and we’re not at that level yet,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “We know that, and there’s not much we can do about it right now. When we did things well, they were able to match us.
“Playing teams like that is how a young team learns to win.”
Phoenix built a 64-54 halftime lead behind 21 points from Booker, and JaVale McGee scored eight points in the first three minutes of the third to move the margin to 15.
“We knew they were going to attack us any time Book came off the floor,” Payne said. “When you’re on the second unit, you know the biggest priority is getting stops. We’re not calling a lot of plays — we’re just trying to get points in transition.”
It was 79-60 when the Pistons switched to a zone defense, but Jae Crowder promptly hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep Phoenix comfortably ahead.
After Booker blew through the Pistons defense for a dunk, Cunningham answered with a reverse dunk at the other end to make it 89-69. Cunningham pointed at Booker after the play and was called for his second technical foul of the game, ending his night.
“I guess they saw him pointing at someone and thought it was the guy he dunked on,” Casey said. “I’ve certainly seen worse things than that not get called.”
Suns forward and former Arizona Wildcat DeAndre Ayton left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.
Durant injured, no timetable for return
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant has a sprained medial collateral ligament of his left knee, sidelining the NBA’s leading scorer just as the Brooklyn Nets were poised to finally have a lengthy run with their Big Three.
Durant was injured Saturday in a victory over New Orleans when teammate Bruce Brown was knocked backward and fell into his knee. Durant had an MRI exam Sunday that confirmed the injury.
The Nets said Durant was expected to return to full strength following a period of rehabilitation, but didn’t provide a timetable.
Brooklyn starts a four-game road trip Monday in Cleveland to begin a stretch where it plays nine of 11 games on the road. That would have given the Nets plenty of games with Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, who is ineligible to play at home because he is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, as mandated for professional athletes playing in New York City’s public venues.
The three All-Stars have played together in just two games, with the Nets winning both.
Durant is averaging 29.3 points. The Nets are a half-game behind Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Surprising Bulls, Grizzlies meet Monday
CHICAGO — The “MVP! MVP!” chants are ringing out in Chicago once again, this time for Bulls star DeMar DeRozan as fans have something to cheer about in the Windy City.
The resurgent Bulls (27-14) are one of the surprising stories in the NBA, opening eyes sitting atop the Eastern Conference with DeRozan and Zach LaVine leading the way. They will be looking to end a three-game losing streak Monday when they visit Memphis (30-15) as part of the league’s MLK Day lineup.
The soaring Grizzlies are also raising more than a few eyebrows around the league. Memphis is currently third in the Western Conference and have won 11 of its last 12 games behind their own MVP candidate, Ja Morant.
Chicago is still in first despite being blown out by the Brooklyn Nets blew in a matchup between the top teams in the East. After being dominated by the Nets, the Bulls were pounded at home by a season-high 42 points against Golden State before a tight loss at Boston on Saturday.
“It’s been a great group to work with,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We just have to keep getting better. I know I’ve talked about that, I know it’s a broad term, but the reality is we have to keep getting better. There are areas we have to keep getting better at.”
While the Bulls are establishing themselves as a serious threat for the first time since Derrick Rose elicited MVP chants from his hometown fans, not many could have predicted they would be sitting atop the East.
“I’m not gonna lie and sit here and be like at the beginning of the year we’d be No. 1 in the East,” guard Coby White said. “But I knew we’d be good from training camp. We’ve got a team full of winning players and hungry players that want to win. It’s definitely been dope. It’s definitely been super fun.”
