Following a matchup with the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Phoenix Suns kick off a four-game road trip by facing the Cleveland Cavaliers, currently sitting at No. 3 in the East.

Despite Kevin Durant‘s impressive 45-point performance, the Suns fell short against the Boston Celtics with a score of 117-107 on Saturday. This defeat marked the end of a seven-game stretch for Phoenix, where they achieved a 4-3 record, including four games played without Devin Booker.

Suns coach Frank Vogel told reporters before Saturday’s game that Booker was “not quite there” for a return from the right ankle injury he suffered in Phoenix’s March 2 loss to the Houston Rockets. However, Vogel said he was “pleasantly surprised” with Booker’s progress in workouts.

Grayson Allen has been instrumental in filling the scoring vacuum for the Suns, notably with 28 points against the Denver Nuggets and 26 points against the Toronto Raptors in recent victories.

Allen made franchise history by sinking seven three-pointers in the first quarter against the Raptors. However, his performance dipped in the game against the Celtics, where he struggled from beyond the arc, finishing with only seven points after going 0-for-4.

“I wish we would have got Grayson more looks,” Durant said after Saturday’s game. “I’m sure every team is emphasizing (attempting 40 3-pointers per game). It’s hard to get that many threes up. You’ve got to get stops, for one, and you’ve got to get out in transition.”

The Cavaliers have been formidable defensively, holding opponents to an average of 109.4 points per game, ranking third in the league, and conceding 12.1 three-pointers per game, placing them eighth in the NBA.

In Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Cavaliers struggled defensively, allowing an unusually high 120 points. The Nets capitalized, shooting efficiently with an 18-of-35 record from beyond the arc and a 53.2% field goal percentage.

Notably absent from the game were key players for the Cavaliers, including Donovan Mitchell, who missed his sixth consecutive game due to a knee injury, and Evan Mobley, out for the third game in a row with a left ankle sprain. Max Strus also sat out his fourth consecutive game with a knee injury.

“When we’re letting teams get us into transition. That’s a lot harder to come back from than when we clamp teams down and keep them to one side of the ball,” Georges Niang, who scored a team-high 20 points on Sunday, said to Bally Sports Cleveland. “We’re definitely going to have to do that (Monday) night.”