SUNS TEAM UP TO KEEP BEST RECORD
Devin Booker scored 35 points, Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 12 rebounds and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the host Indiana Pacers 112-94 on Friday night.
Suns 112, Pacers 94
Chris Paul added 12 points and nine assists for Phoenix, and Cam Payne had 11 points and five assists. The Suns finished the first half of the season 32-9, their second-best record in franchise history through 41 games.
“I’m a scoring guard and I get paid to make plays and put the ball in the bucket, that doesn’t come without Deandre setting good screens, Chris getting the ball there on time,” Booker said. “Deandre having a dominant first half (21 points) made things open things up for all of us in the second half.”
Justin Holiday scored 25 points for Indiana, hitting seven 3s, Caris LeVert had 20, and Domantas Sabonis added 14 points and 14 rebounds. The Pacers have lost three in a row and nine of 10.
Warriors 139, Bulls 96: Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, Stephen Curry added 19 and the visiting Golden State rolled past Chicago for its most-lopsided victory of the season.
Rookie Jonathan Kuminga finished with 25 points, and Jordan Poole had 22. The Warriors broke out of their rut in a huge way, pulling away early after dropping four of five. It was just the sort of breather they needed coming off a lopsided loss at defending champion Milwaukee the
previous night.
The Bulls lost star Zach LaVine to a left knee injury in the opening minutes. They got booed off the court trailing 78-47 at halftime and wound up with their worst loss this season. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls lost for the third time in four games after winning nine straight.
Heat 124, Hawks 118: Tyler Herro scored 24 points, Jimmy Butler returned from a three-game absence with a sprained ankle to add 23 and host Miami rallied to beat Atlanta.
Omer Yurtseven had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and P.J. Tucker also had 17 points to help Miami move within a game of Chicago for first place in the Eastern Conference. Trae Young had 24 points for Atlanta.
76ers 111, Celtics 99: Joel Embiid had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Philadelphia
used a 28-2 first-quarter run to rout visiting Boston.
Embiid finished five points shy of setting a franchise record with 30 or more points in nine straight games. He remains tied with Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain for the club mark with eight in a row.
Jaylen Brown scored 21 points for Boston.
Magic 116, Hornets 109:
Moritz Wagner scored a season-high 26 points, younger brother Franz added 19 points and seven assists and Orlando beat host Charlotte to snap a 10-game losing streak. LaMelo Ball had 23 points and eight assists for the Hornets.
Cavaliers 114, Spurs 109:
Darius Garland scored 28 points and Cleveland handed visiting San Antonio its fifth straight.
Dejounte Murray had 30 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for San Antonio.
Pistons 103, Raptors 87:
Trey Lyles scored 21 points, Cade Cunningham and Hamidou Diallo each added 18 and host Detroit beat Toronto. Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 10 assists for Toronto.
Mavericks 112, Grizzlies 85: The 11-game win streak for Memphis came to a close at home as Luka Doncic had his fourth triple-double of the season to lead visiting Dallas to a runaway victory.
Doncic had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as visiting Dallas outscored Memphis by 16 points in the third quarter to take control of the game. Ja Morant had 19 points to lead the Grizzlies.
Kings 126, Rockets 114:
De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points and Marvin Bagley III had 26 to lead host Sacramento to the victory over Houston. Christian Wood had 26 points to lead the Rockets.