The Suns lost all five of those without Beal and Durant, who was also in his second game back after missing seven, also with a left calf strain. He grabbed at his left ankle in the fourth quarter after Nets forward Ben Simmons stepped on it in transition, but Durant said after the game he’s fine.

Kevin Durant had not played in 18 days, a stretch in which the Phoenix Suns won one game in seven tries, falling from the top of the Western Conference to the middle. Teammate Bradley Beal had not played in nearly as long,