Durant lifts Suns past Cavs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Kevin Durant scored 42 points as the Phoenix Suns reignited their playoff hopes with a 123-112 upset of the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

A superb performance from Durant secured a third straight victory for Phoenix as it aims to muscle its way into the postseason picture in the Western Conference.

Durant erupted for 19 points in a third-quarter burst of scoring that took the game beyond Cleveland’s grasp, with the Suns opening up a 98-79 lead heading into the fourth quarter which they never looked like letting slip.

The win lifted Phoenix into 10th place in the Western Conference and into the play-in tournament reckoning.

The top six teams in each National Basketball Association conference qualify automatically for the playoffs, while teams placed from 7th to 10th play in a mini tournament to determine the final two playoff berths.

“This is the best team in the league,” Durant said of Cleveland following the Suns win.

“We’ve been struggling and we know we’ve got the toughest schedule for the last 10 games,” he added. “So we just wanted to dial in and make sure we kept building on the work we’ve done over the last week.”

Cleveland’s fourth consecutive loss leaves the second-placed Boston Celtics just five wins behind the Cavs at the top of the East.

The Celtics improved to 51-19 after thrashing the Utah Jazz 121-99 on the back of 27 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 26 points from Jayson Tatum.