Suns, 76ers advance to second round

NEW ORLEANS >> Chris Paul went 14 for 14 in the best shooting night in NBA playoff history, Devin Booker returned from a hamstring injury to hit a late 3-pointer and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-109 on Thursday night to finish off the first-round series in six games.

Paul had the most field goals without a miss in a playoff game, hit all four of his free throws and had eight assists as the topseeded Suns overcame a 10-point halftime deficit.

Phoenix will face the Dallas-Utah winner in the second round.

Booker hit a 3-pointer with 1:42 left to put the Suns ahead for goad at 106-104. The All-Star guard played for the first time in nine days since injuring his right hamstring after scoring 31 points in the first half of Game 2. He had 13 points on 5-of12 shooting and had five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.

Deandre Ayton had 22 points for Phoenix on 10of-12 shooting.

The Suns erased the 10-point halftime deficit by making 13 of their first

14 shots in the third quarter to take a 77-74 lead. At that point, Paul was 10 of

10 from the field and Ayton was 6 of 6. Paul had 13 points in the quarter, but

New Orleans used an 11-5 run to take an 85-82 lead into the final period.

Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 21 points.

The game got chippy in the second quarter — there were 16 fouls called — and the Pelicans seemed to revel in the physical play, outsourcing the Suns 3020 to take a 58-48 halftime lead.

76ERS 132, RAPTORS 97 >> Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds, James Harden added 22 points and 15 assists and Philadelphia beat Toronto in Game 6 to end the first-round series.

Philadelphia will face Miami in the second round. The top-seeded Heat beat Atlanta in five games.

Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, going 5 for 12 from 3-point range, and Tobias Harris had 19 points and 11 rebounds, to help the 76ers finish off the Raptors with a blowout after losing the past two games.

Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, Pascal Siakam fouled out with 24 points.

Toronto played without all-star guard Fred VanVleet. He missed his second straight game because of a strained left hip flexor.

GERALD HERBERT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Suns guard Chris Paul (3) shoots over Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram in the second half of Game 6of a first-round playoff series on Thursday in New Orleans. The Suns won 115-109, to win the series 4-2and advance to the second-round.