NBA Cup: Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal return to lead Suns past Lakers as Rockets clinch knockout round berth

The Phoenix Suns were finally back at full strength on Tuesday night.

The Suns, with both stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal back on the court after their respective calf injuries, flew ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. They picked up a 127-100 win at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, and handed the Lakers their first ever loss in the NBA Cup.

The Suns had been struggling lately without both Durant and Beal available. Durant missed the Suns’ last seven games with a calf strain, and Beal missed five straight games with his calf injury. The team went just 1-6 with Durant out, and they lost five straight with both guys out of the lineup.

But on Tuesday night, thanks to a huge 22-6 run to close the third quarter powered in large part by Jusuf Nurkic, the Suns had no issue cruising to the 27-point win. That push in the third quarter had the Suns suddenly up by 20 points entering the fourth quarter.

Durant had 23 points and six rebounds for the Suns in the win. He shot 9-of-17 from the field, too. Beal finished with 23 points and shot 10-of-15 from the field. He chased down LeBron James for a wild block off the backboard in the fourth quarter, which left James incredibly slow to come back down to the other end of the court.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 26 points and 10 assists, and Nurkic added 12 points and 12 rebounds. They shot 51.5% from the field as a team, too.

Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 25 points and 15 rebounds in the loss, which dropped them to 10-7 on the season. James finished just shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The Suns and Lakers now sit at 2-1 in group play with one game left. The Lakers, who won the inaugural version of the event last year, will wrap the opening round with a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Suns will host the San Antonio Spurs next on Thursday. While the Suns hold a slight lead in the standings, the group is still very much up for grabs heading into the final game.

Bucks survive without Giannis

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, and it seemed to catch everyone — including coach Doc Rivers — by surprise.

Antetokounmpo was ruled out of their 106-103 win against the Miami Heat shortly before tipoff at the Kaseya Center due to a knee issue. He went through shootaround and his pregame routine normally, but then he felt discomfort in his knee. He was considered probable leading up to the game while recovering from a calf strain.

Despite taking a 20-point lead in the third quarter, the Heat rallied back to make it a one possession game in the final minutes. They held the Bucks without a field goal in the final two minutes of the game, too. But a late Tyler Herro bucket was off the mark in the last few seconds, which allowed the Bucks to sneak out with the 3-point win.

Damian Lillard led the way for Milwaukee after a huge first half performance. He dropped 25 of his 37 points in the first 24 minutes, and he finished with 12 assists and eight 3-pointers. Brook Lopez finished with 13 points, and Bobby Portis added 11 off the bench.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points and five assists. Herro finished with 18 points, and Terry Rozier added 17 points.The Heat are now 7-8 on the season, and 1-2 in NBA Cup play.

Antetokounmpo has averaged a career-high 32.4 points and 11.9 rebounds while shooting nearly 61% from the field. Tuesday’s win marks the second game he’s missed this season. While the Bucks got away with a win without him on Tuesday, which marked the team’s fifth straight victory and kept them undefeated in Group B play, they’ll need him available if they’re going to make a legitimate run in the knockout stage of the NBA Cup.

Rockets clinch knockout round berth

The Rockets nearly blew a perfect opportunity to clinch a spot in the knockout round on Tuesday night.

But, thanks to a late defensive stand and a wild layup from Alperen Sengun, the Rockets are now officially the second team to make it out of the group stage.

The Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-111 in overtime on Tuesday at the Target Center. Despite letting a 17-point lead in the second half slip away, Houston held Minnesota scoreless for the final 3:12 of regulation and then jumped ahead in overtime to grab the win. Sengun helped push that win with a ridiculous backward layup midway through the period, too, which they used to grab the six-point win.

The Rockets were the only team who had a chance to clinch on Tuesday. The Golden State Warriors already secured a spot in the knockout round, and the New Orleans Pelicans were officially eliminated on Friday. The Timberwolves are now 1-2 in pool play.

The Wizards were officially eliminated after they fell to the Chicago Bulls 127-108 on Tuesday night. The Wizards went 0-3 in NBA Cup play. The Jazz were eliminated, too, after they fell to the San Antonio Spurs 128-115. The Spurs also hold a 2-1 record in Group B with the Lakers and Suns.

The Bucks’ win over the Heat actually eliminated the Toronto Raptors from the knockout stage, too. The Raptors did not play on Tuesday, but they were 0-2 in NBA Cup play and are now officially out of reach.