On Tuesday night, the Phoenix Suns finally saw two of their best players, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, return from nagging calf injuries that have kept them out over the past few games. Durant's absence, in particular, has been bad for the Suns, as they have gone just 1-6 with him on the mend. But with Durant back, the Suns got its groove back — taking a dominant 127-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers that has them now in pole position to win their NBA Cup group.

For a Suns team that has thrived in the clutch, getting a comfortable win like this was much-needed, and head coach Mike Budenholzer certainly thinks so.

“We needed a game like this,” Budenholzer said, via ClutchPoints Suns beat reporter Hayden Cilley. “I think we needed to build on it. We need to fill our cup up tonight and get ready to play again tonight. This was 48 minutes closer to what you want, what you strive for.”

The two teams were evenly matched through the first 24 minutes of the ballgame, but in the third quarter, the Suns ran away with the game thanks to a heater from Devin Booker. Their defense was also rock-solid, forcing the Lakers to take bad shots as things went from bad to worse for the Purple and Gold.

It's not quite clear yet if both Durant and Beal will be suiting up for the Suns in the second night of a back-to-back, as they'll be facing a plucky Brooklyn Nets team later tonight. But one thing's for sure, the Suns should be back to being at their best now that those two have returned.

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When Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were out, an inordinately heavy burden to create offense landed on the shoulders of Devin Booker. Opposing teams recognized this and threw multiple bodies towards Booker, forcing him to give up the rock instead. The Suns won just one of seven games without Durant, which shows how much Phoenix struggled with Booker running a one-man show.

However, now that teams could no longer double Booker, the Suns thrived. Booker was the primary catalyst of their game-deciding run in the third quarter, as he scored 11 points in quick succession as Phoenix's lead over the Lakers ballooned to insurmountable heights. He finished with 26 points and 10 assists, and now, the Suns will be looking to make up for all the ground they lost over the past few weeks.