Kevin Durant’s 41 Lead Suns Past Monty Williams, Pistons

Coach Monty Williams‘ first matchup with his former team went about as expected — with Williams’ new team losing in a rout.

But the Pistons are still finding their footing as a younger group, while the Suns are expecting to compete for a championship. Advantage, Williams’ former team, as Phoenix cruised to a 120-106 road win on Sunday.

Leading the way for the Suns was no less than Kevin Durant, who scored a season-high 41 on 14-of-27 shooting. That’s one way to win when you’re without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, as the Suns (3-4) have been lately. It also snapped a three-game skid.

Monty Williams X Devin Booker = hugged after game. #Suns #Pistons pic.twitter.com/ReoqVm1dio

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 5, 2023

Eric Gordon added 21 for the Suns, who were basically never really challenged.

“They were tougher than us, they played harder than us pretty much most of the game,” Williams said, via Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We had too many situations where we missed assignments to start games. When you don’t know the assignment against Kevin Durant, that’s a problem.”

Cade Cunningham scored 26 points to lead the Pistons (2-5) and Marcus Sasser added 22 off the bench.