Durant scores season-high 44 in return as Thunder top Suns in overtime

For the second time this season, Kevin Durant returned to the Oklahoma City Thunder after a fairly lengthy absence. This time, his return led to a Thunder victory.

Durant was back Wednesday after sitting out six games due to a sprained right ankle that was initially thought to be a minor issue but lingered for nearly two weeks. Apparently the ankle is now just fine, and Durant was an absolute beast as the Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 137-134 in overtime.

Durant finished with a season-high 44 points on 13-of-23 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes. In nine games before the most recent injury, his average of 28.2 minutes had capped him at 22.4 points, five rebounds and 3.6 assists, strong numbers but not quite what's come to be expected of the reigning MVP.

The Thunder needed every bit of Durant's outburst after losing Russell Westbrook to an ejection at the end of the first half. Anthony Morrow had a clutch four-point play in overtime, Westbrook dropped 20 before he left and the team shot a franchise-record 49 free-throw attempts, but most of the weight fell on the capable shoulders of Durant.

They'll need him to continue to be great, too, as they remain one-and-a-half games back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. That's a better spot than they maybe should be in considering Durant has missed 23 games and Westbook missed 14. The Thunder need to continue to play at a 54-win pace to finish with 48 wins, a pace that seems well within the Thunder's wheelhouse assuming they don't run into further injury troubles from here.

With the loss, the Suns have dropped two in a row after a six-game winning streak, dropping them to 18-16 on the year and leaving them as the prime prey of the Thunder for a playoff position.