Suns stop Cavaliers, win 14th straight

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 12 assists and made four free throws in the final 8.8 seconds, and the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 14 games by holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-115 on Wednesday night.

Phoenix’s run started with a win over Cleveland on Oct. 30, coming after a 1-3 opening to the season for the defending Western Conference champions. The Suns have been perfect since and improved the NBA’s best road record to 7-1.

It wasn’t easy.

The young Cavs gave the Suns everything they could handle, and if not for Paul, a couple calls that could have gone either way and Cleveland’s Ricky Rubio missing three free throws in the final seconds, the streak might have ended.

Phoenix’s winning streak is the third-longest in club history, matching a 14gamer by the club in 1992. The Suns won 17 straight during the 2006-07 season.

Hornets 106, Magic 99:

Terry Rozier scored 27 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. came off the bench with 21 points and six rebounds to help Charlotte overcome poor shooting to win at Orlando. LaMelo Ball had 22 points for the Hornets, who won for the seventh time in eight games.

Lakers 124, Pacers 116 (OT): LeBron James made the tiebreaking three-pointer in overtime and followed with a back-breaking three in his return from the first suspension of his career to help Los Angeles beat Indiana. James finished with 37 points on 13-of-29 shooting and had six assists and five rebounds.

Nets 123, Celtics 104:

Kevin Durant scored 21 points to pass Allen Iverson and move into the top 25 on the NBA’s career scoring list, as Brooklyn won at Boston.

Bucks 114, Pistons 93: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Bobby Portis added 28 as host Milwaukee beat Detroit for the 12th straight time.

ELSEWHERE

Nuggets: Short-handed Denver confirmed that guard PJ Dozier’s season is over after he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament