At age 36, Kevin Durant is a bucket.
Even with Evan Mobley — the betting favorite for Defensive Player of the Year — as the primary defender, Durant dropped 42 on the Cavaliers giving the Suns a critical win and the Cavaliers their fourth straight loss.
Phoenix has won three in a row and, more importantly, is tied with Dallas for the final play-in spot in the West (the No. 10 seed). The Suns are defending better and finding their game with the playoffs a month away.
Durant poked holes in Evan Mobley’s case for Defensive Player of the Year: In the 4:42, Mobley was KD’s primary defender. He scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a couple of 3-pointers, and the Mavericks as a team scored 23 points in those minutes. DeAndre Hunter also got time on Durant, but that went worse, with Durant shooting 6-of-10 in those nearly four minutes.
Cleveland has lost four in a row and looked out of sync as they swing through a West Coast road trip, nobody more than Donovan Mitchell, who started the game 0-of-7 and finished the night 2-of-18 from the floor. All of this is a troubling sign for a Cavaliers team that has serious playoff aspirations. It’s possible teams are starting to figure out the Cavaliers, that said the streak likely ends on Sunday when Cleveland faces Utah.
Read the full article here