Booker scores 35 as Suns hit 6-0 in bubble
Devin Booker scored 35 points as the Phoenix Suns rolled past the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 128-101 on Monday to improve to 6-0 in the restart in Lake Buena Vista.
In the Western Conference playoff race, the Suns moved to one game behind eighth-place Memphis and a half-game behind ninthplace Portland. The No. 8 and No. 9 teams will meet in a play-in series this weekend.
“We haven’t accomplished anything,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. “That may sound like coach-speak, but we dug ourselves a hole with our record.”
Oklahoma City was without four of its top five scorers. Shai GilgeousAlexander (bruised right calf), Danilo Gallinari (left ankle maintenance), Dennis Schroder (birth of child) and Steven Adams (bruised left leg) sat out. Reserve center Nerlens Noel (sprained right ankle) also did not play.
Raptors 114, Bucks 106: Chris Boucher scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Toronto. The top two teams in the Eastern Conference were missing key players.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP, missed the game after undergoing oral surgery. Bucks coach Mike Budehnolzer said Monday it was uncertain whether Antetokounmpo would play in the team’s final two seeding games Tuesday against Washington and Thursday against Memphis.
For Toronto, Kyle Lowry sat out with a sore lower back, Serge Ibaka missed the game with a bruised right knee and Fred Van Vleet was out with a hyperextended right knee.
Mavericks 122, Jazz 114: Short-handed Dallas rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to stun Utah. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 27 points. It was the biggest comeback for the Mavericks since February 2016 and the win means Dallas still has a slim shot at earning the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Dallas won without stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who were resting because of nagging injuries. Utah was playing without star Donovan Mitchell, and coach Quin Snyder played backups for much of the game to rest his starters.
BEN SIMMONS HAS SURGERY
Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons had surgery Monday to remove the loose body in his left knee. The loose piece was found after he suffered a temporary partial dislocation of his left kneecap Wednesday against Washington.
There’s a report that the two-time All-Star will miss the remainder of the season.
The Sixers will be without Joel Embiid (twisted left ankle) and Josh Richardson (rest) for Tuesday’s game against Phoenix.