Kevin Durant scores 23 points on his Phoenix Suns debut

Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in his Suns debut and helped Phoenix snap the Charlotte Hornets’ five-game winning streak with a 105-91 string-to-string win.

The performance came after the franchise’s WNBA team Phoenix Mercury shared a touching video of him bonding with new signing Brittney Griner.

The team shared images of the two stars hugging on the court with the caption, “It’s a new dawn in the desert.”

Durant, acquired in a highly successful trade with the Brooklyn Nets on February 9, showed no lingering effects from a right knee sprain that kept him out of action for more than seven weeks Wednesday night.

The 34-year-old star fit in perfectly at his new club, also grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots in 27 minutes.

Durant made two 3-pointers, a flurry of midrange jumpers and showed he still has the flurry to drive into the hole with a left-footed layup for his first basket with the Suns.

He also provided a boost to the defense, blocking the Hornets’ rookie center Mark Williams twice in the first five minutes.

Devin Booker scored 37 points and Deandre Ayton had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the Suns’ seventh win in 10 games. Chris Paul added 11 assists.

Phoenix (34-29) entered the game fourth in the Western Conference standings, but could be set for a strong finish with Durant anchoring what has the potential to be an explosive offense.

The Hornets played without LaMelo Ball, who underwent season-ending surgery Wednesday to repair a fractured right ankle. Kelly Oubre Jr. took over with 26 points for Charlotte (20-44), while Terry Rozier added 20 points.

Durant scored 12 points in the first half as Phoenix opened up to a 57-41 lead.

Charlotte cut Phoenix’s lead to six heading into the fourth quarter behind former Sun Oubre, who started with Ball out.

But Durant, who had played only 19 minutes in the first three quarters, came back early in the fourth quarter and began to pick up the slack.

He hit a 17-foot shot on a fake ball, drawing a foul to set up a three-point play. The 15-year-old seemed to find his rhythm from there, knocking down three more mid-range jumpers to push the lead to 12 and finished with nine points in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Griner hasn’t played for the Mercury since 2021, when she led Phoenix to the WNBA Finals before losing to the Chicago Sky.

Regardless, the WNBA star was nearly unstoppable that season, averaging 20.5 points, 1.9 blocks, 2.7 assists and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game.

The former Baylor star was released from a Russian penal colony in December after being acquired in a US-Russia prisoner swap from convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner, who had played professionally in Russia since 2014, was returning to the country in February when she was stopped at the Moscow airport with what authorities claimed were vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Ultimately, Griner was convicted in August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison. A subsequent appeal was denied in October.

She had been assigned to a penal colony in Mordovia, a region known for its brutal prison system, until President Biden’s administration was able to secure her release earlier this month. She was detained in Russia for 10 months.