Kevin Durant scored 15 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, including the decisive driving basket with 24 seconds left, as the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 118-116 victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday (Philippine time).
Durant was 14-of-20 shooting and had six assists for the Suns, who own a five-game winning streak. Durant’s heroics capped a game-ending 14-3 run for Phoenix.
Tyrese Maxey made six three-pointers and scored 32 points to lead Philadelphia, which has lost five of six games to start the season.
Paul George made his 76ers’ debut and scored 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting. George missed a tying 23-footer with 3.4 seconds left and Maxey was off the mark on a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
George missed the 76ers’ first five games due to a left knee injury. He departed the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason and signed with Philadelphia to team up with former NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who has yet to play this season (knee).
Bradley Beal had 17 points, Jusuf Nurkic registered 15 points and 15 rebounds and Royce O’Neale also had 15 points for Phoenix.
Devin Booker had 13 points on 3-of-18 shooting, including misses on all six three-pointers. Grayson Allen added 14 points for the Suns, who shot 51.2 percent from the field and were 11 of 32 from three-point range.
Guerschon Yabusele scored a career-best 19 points for Philadelphia. Kyle Lowry had 13 points, Kelly Oubre, Jr. added 11, and Eric Gordon had 10 for the 76ers, who shot 46 percent from the field and were 20 of 51 from behind the arc.
Durant hit a 15-footer to give the Suns a 116-115 lead with one minute remaining. That capped a run of eight straight Phoenix points.
Maxey split two free throws with 49.6 seconds left to tie the score.
Earlier, Durant drained a three-pointer to tie the score at 104 with 6:46 remaining.
Maxey answered with a three-pointer and Yabusele knocked down two treys in 40 seconds as the 76ers moved ahead 113-104 with 5:16 left.
Yabusele threw down a dunk with 3:39 remaining to give Philadelphia a 115-108 lead before the Suns scored the next eight points.
Phoenix held a 65-63 halftime lead. Durant scored 15 for the Suns, while Lowry had 13 for the 76ers. (Field Level Media / Reuters)