Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are back.
The Phoenix Suns stars are expected to return from injuries in time for Tuesday’s nationally televised NBA Cup game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said Sunday that Durant and Beal had a “good day” in 5-on-5 practice and would “hopefully” be able to play Tuesday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that both plan to play in the game that will air on TNT.
Durant has missed the Suns’ last seven games due to a calf injury. Beal has missed five straight games, also with a calf injury. The Suns are 1-6 since Durant’s injury and have lost five straight games with both players absent from the lineup.
The Suns were off to an 8-1 start prior to Durant’s injury. Since then, they have fallen to 9-7 in eighth place in the Western Conference.
Durant, 36, remains one of the game’s elite players when healthy. In nine games this season, Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 55.3% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.
Beal, 31, was also playing well prior to his injury. In nine games this season, he averaged 17.8 points, four rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range. Both are critical to the Suns’ hopes of competing in a stacked Western Conference this season.
In Tuesday’s game, the Suns will look to improve on their 1-1 record in the NBA Cup, while the Lakers will look to keep their perfect 2-0 Cup record intact in defense of their 2023 Cup title.
