Kevin Durant scores 23 points on Phoenix Suns debut in win at Charlotte Hornets

Phoenix Suns beat Charlotte Hornets thanks in part to Kevin Durant's 23 points in his NBA debut:

A injured knee ligament has kept the former league MVP, who joined from the Brooklyn Nets in, out of action.

Durant was given limited playing time as he works towards returning to full fitness, while Devin Booker, a new teammate, scored 37 points.

The 34-year-old Durant admitted that after playing in roughly a thousand basketball games, he felt anxious today.

But after the ball was tipped, my teammates did an amazing job of making me feel at ease, so I simply tried to play my game.

Yeah, I was out of the game. I'm happy my knee is back to normal and that I'm progressing towards playing more and more minutes per game.

"I'm excited about what can expand upon this.

Although Charlotte had closed the gap to six points entering the fourth quarter, Durant's 12 points helped Phoenix build a 16-point advantage in the first half.

Phoenix, which is now in fourth place in the Western Conference and 10 games down of league-leading Denver Nuggets, is attempting to move up the standings.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics continued to battle it out for supremacy in the Eastern Conference as Durant made his Suns debut.

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Orlando Magic 139-117 behind 31 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo, giving them their 16th straight triumph.

It maintained the Bucks atop the conference, half a game ahead of Boston, who defeated the Bucks 117-113 behind a resurgent Jayson Tatum's 41 points.Cavaliers of Cleveland.

Despite being ejected late in Boston's loss to the Knicks in New York on Monday, Tatum, who participated in this year's All-Star game on February 19, recovered to record his ninth game with 40 or more points.

We had a strong beginning and just continued being aggressive, he remarked. After the All-Star break and playing at Indiana, it had been two weeks since I had slept in my own bed. It just felt good to be back home.

In Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks defeated Brooklyn 142-118 to earn their eighth straight victory, while the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-117 despite LeBron James' absence due to a foot injury.