Kevin Durant books seat alongside LeBron James in uber-elite list after 42-point explosion against Cavaliers

The Phoenix Suns (34-37), led by Kevin Durant's starring role, pulled off a surprise victory (123-112) on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers (56-14). The star forward, in his 18th year in the NBA, lit up the Phoenix Suns' Top 10 ranked defense with 42 points on 17-29 shooting from the field, going 4-9 from outside the arc.

The NBA veteran put up his second 40 point performance of the season, and hence entered an elite club of four, sharing the rarefied air with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

In a year of very few positives for the Phoenix franchise, Kevin Durant has been the rare bright spark, averaging close to 27 points a game, showing that he has not slowed down offensively. This has not stopped speculation about his departure from Arizona, with many pundits predicting that he's set to make another switch of teams, a striking feature of his storied career.

Despite the Suns' mediocre record, the victory took them to the 10th seed in the West, ahead of Dallas Mavericks for the final play-in spot.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand have fallen prey to indifferent form, losing their fourth game on the bounce. They still retain a firm grip atop the Eastern Conference, five games ahead of the defending champions, the Boston Celtics.

Devin Booker and HC Mike Budenholzer lavish praise on Kevin Durant's classic performance

In the post game press conference, Kevin Durant remained charactersitically resolute in his answers and emphasized the importance for the Suns to build on a victory against one of NBA's best teams. The former MVP also expressed his satisfaction with the team's recent performances.

"Especially around this time of year, it's important to get big wins and to have some good momentum. I've liked the style of play that we've had the last few games on both ends of the floor" - Kevin Durant

Durant's co-star Devin Booker was effusive in praise of his illustrious teammate, likening his performance to a 'masterclass'. This sentiment was echoed by Phoenix Suns Head Coach Mike Budenholzer who described his superstar's showing as 'special'.

"He was phenomenal. Those are some great defenders that he’s going against, and there’s some nights where just he can get to his spots and get to his shots and score at a high rate. He was special tonight." - Mike Budenholzer on Kevin Durant's 42-point performance

After two rest days, the Suns, who have won four of their last five games, will face off against the Milwaukee Bucks (39-30) on Monday, looking to solidify their grip over a postseason spot.