Devin Booker returned to action Wednesday night at Footprint Center in Phoenix and helped lead the Suns to a 133-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After missing the last five games with a right calf strain, Booker brought back a winning vibe, scoring 31 points on 12 of 22 shooting, four rebounds, and five assists in 26 minutes of play.
His counterpart, Kevin Durant, had an efficient night from the floor, matching Booker’s 31 points (11 of 15), while adding six rebounds and six assists.
“Incredible… that’s what I expect out of him every time he takes the court,” Durant said of Booker. “Good to have our point guard back.”
It certainly did seem good for Phoenix (5-6) to get their point guard back.
The Suns lost late in the game against their previous two opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Phoenix got out to a fast start again on Wednesday, with a 18-4 run in the early stages of the first quarter, followed by a 21-5 run in the midst of the second quarter.
Minnesota (8-3), behind a defense which ranks tops in the NBA, was riding a seven-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s game, including back-to-back wins over Golden State.
“Number one defense in the league. Happy how we played offensively… 48-minute complete game was called for,” head coach Frank Vogel said.
That top-ranked defense Vogel spoke of did not seem to be an issue for Phoenix as they shot 60 percent from the field, 54.8 percent from three, and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line.
It was thought that the Suns’ “Big 3” of Bradley Beal, Booker, and Durant, would debut together on Friday, but Beal (back spasms), became a late scratch with the injury that has been nagging him since the preseason.
About an hour before tip-off, Vogel said that Beal tweaked his back during the game Sunday versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and he would not be playing as a result of “residual tightness.”
Luckily for Sun’s fans, there were a cast of contributors on both ends of the floor.
Eric Gordon (15 points) and Grayson Allen (14 points) both knocked down three triples.
And Drew Eubanks came off the bench, adding 13 points (6/8) of his own. He even hit a corner three and threw down a poster dunk to go along with it.
Josh Okogie provided a spark off the bench as well, scoring 12 points while going 3 for 3 on 3-pointers.
He came into the game having missed his last 12 attempts while shooting at an abysmal 17.4 percent rate, but his defense gets him the playing time he deserves.
Okogie and Jordan Goodwin picking up Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards throughout the game wreaked havoc on the Timberwolves game plan.
The pair held a 27.6 PPG scorer to a season-low 13 points on 4 of 16 shooting.
The Timberwolves did not help themselves out, shooting 5 of 27 from the arc.
Karl-Anthony Towns racked up 25 points to go with seven rebounds, but no other Minnesota player scored more than 14 points.
The Suns look to keep things rolling as they hit the road to play the Utah Jazz (4-7) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in the NBA In-Season Tournament Group Stage.
