Booker, Suns outlast Hornets
Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 16 and the Phoenix Suns outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 101-97 in overtime Sunday.
Deandre Ayton added 14 points, and Mikal Bridges had 13 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six steals. The Suns, second in the Western Conference at 31-14, have won three of four on their Southeast swing.
“I think both teams wish they made more shots, but there are some games like that,” Booker said. “It was a real high-intensity game and we had our chance to make an alright trip into a good trip and we did that.”
Devonte Graham led the Hornets with 30 points, and Terry Rozier had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward scored 15 points.
“Defensively, (Mikal Bridges’) contests are some of the best in the league at his position after a screen,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “He has the length and ability to stay in a play. Graham got going and we needed somebody to get their hand up and make it tough on him and that is what Mikal does. He has knack for making plays.”
A crowd of 3,850 saw the Hornets force overtime, with Rozier’s 3-pointer tying it at 90 with 33.5 seconds left.
Trail Blazers 122, Raptors 117 — Damian Lillard helped Portland surge ahead in the third quarter. CJ McCollum finished the job in the closing minutes.
McCollum scored seven of his 23 points in the final two minutes and the Trail Blazers beat Toronto.
Lillard had 22 points and 11 assists for the Blazers, who took command of their third straight win — all on the road — by holding Toronto to 10 points in the third quarter.
Pascal Siakam finished with 26 points and eight rebounds, and Fred VanVleet added 20 points and eight assists for Toronto, which lost for the 11th time in 12 games. The Raptors shot 4 for 22 with five turnovers in the third quarter.
The game was played three days after the trade deadline move in which the Raptors sent Norman Powell to the Blazers for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
Lillard, who sat out Friday night’s win at Orlando with a left knee contusion, joined Powell in Portland’s three-guard starting lineup, which didn’t get a long look..
Derrick Jones Jr., bumped from the lineup, scored Portland’s final seven points of the first half, but Hood’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Toronto a 74-68 halftime edge.
Jones finished with 16 points and three rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Raptors led 82-75 when Siakam scored on a short jumper with 6:27 left in the third quarter. But Toronto was held scoreless for nearly six minutes.
A steal and a dunk by Powell put the Blazers ahead 83-82, and Lillard scored seven points in a 16-2 run that closed the third quarter with Portland leading 91-84.
VanVleet led a late rally that got the Raptors within one with 2:28 left, but McCollum answered with a jumper, a runner and a three-point play.