Phoenix Suns @ Detroit Pistons
Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI | Game ID: 22300140
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DET 27 22 31 26 106PHX 28 30 34 28 120
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Kevin Durant scores season-high 41 points, Suns snap 3-game skid with 120-106 win over Pistons
DETROIT -- — Kevin Durant sat and smiled, trying to speak loudly enough to be heard in a jubilant locker room.
“We're excited because we finally got a win," Durant said.
Durant had a season-high 41 points, and the short-handed Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
“It’s not fun losing one in a row, definitely not three in a row,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said.
Phoenix was without its banged-up backcourt of Devin Booker (calf) and Bradley Beal (back) and a trio of guards took advantage of more playing time and shots.
Eric Gordon scored 21 points, Grayson Allen had 14 and Josh Okogie added 10.
“We're doing it by committee,” Durant said.
Cade Cunningham had 26 points, six assists and six turnovers for the Pistons, who have lost four in a row.
Detroit coach Monty Williams faced his former team for the first time in the regular season after matching up in the preseason.
“These are really cool games to be a part of,” Williams said before the game.
After the game, though, Williams was not happy.
“They were tougher than us,” he said. “They played harder than we did in stretches, pretty much most of the game.”
Durant, who made 14 of 27 shots, scored 13 points in the first quarter to give the Suns a one-point lead. The superstar was determined to help them bounce back after losing Saturday at Philadelphia and in consecutive home games to San Antonio.
“He, like the rest of us, is tired of losing,” Vogel said. “He really imposed his will.”
Durant said he wasn't alone.
“We all had that mentality,” he said.
Gordon scored 11 points in the second quarter, extending the lead to 58-49 at halftime.
Durant added 18 points in the third to give Phoenix a 12-point cushion in the fourth that allowed it to cruise to a comfortable and much-needed victory. He was 12 of 12 at the free throw line.
“We had too many situations where we missed assignments,” Williams said. “When you don’t know an assignment on Kevin Durant, that’s a problem.”
Detroit rookie reserve Marcus Sasser scored a season-high 22 points.
“He’s a handful,” Vogel said. “We know he's capable. We did not get to his catch and shoot and he made us pay. He was also able to generate offense through the pick and roll game. He’s a heck of a player.”
Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson had 14 points while Killian Hayes added 13 points.
Detroit’s Jalen Duren , who had 12 points and 11 rebounds, was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after being called for a second flagrant foul.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia, a season-ticket holder at Little Caesars Arena, watched the franchise he agreed to buy nearly a year ago play against his hometown team. Ishbia sat in his front-row seats, near the Suns bench, with his family. He fired Williams after last season.
UP NEXT
Suns: Close three-game trip at Chicago on Wednesday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DETAT A. Thompson
CC C. Cunningham
IS I. Stewart
JD J. Duren
JH J. Harris
KH K. Hayes
MB M. Bagley III
MS M. Sasser
SU S. Umude
PHXBB B. Bol
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JG J. Goodwin
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KB K. Bates-Diop
KD K. Durant
NU Nurkic
SL S. Lee
UA U. Azubuike
YW Y. Watanabe
DET/PHX the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur