Down by 14, Suns rally for NBA-best 44th win
Devin Booker never tires of watching Chris Paul do his thing to lift Phoenix to wins.
Paul did his part for the Suns in back-to-back nights on the road against top teams in the East — first, Chicago and then Philadelphia — and gets to try it again next game in a rematch with the NBA champs.
“You’re a cold piece of work, CP3,” Booker said.
Booker scored 35 points and Paul had 16 points and 12 assists to lead the Suns to their NBA-high 44th win, 114-109 over the 76ers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
The Suns rallied from a 14-point deficit to win for the 14th time in 15 games, raising their record to 44-10.
Up next this week for Phoenix, an NBA Finals rematch at home against the Bucks.
“Our goal is what everybody knows it is,” head coach Monty Williams said. “But our mission is to do stuff like we did tonight along the way.”
The Suns were coming off a 127-124 win at Chicago on Monday night, so Williams gave the team the day off. Sleep in. Scratch shootaround.
“We knew it was going to be a day where we needed juice,” he said.
Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, though he mishandled the ball twice in the final minutes to doom their comeback try. Celtics 126, Nets 91: Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 22 points and visiting Boston rolled to its sixth straight win.
Without Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn wasn’t competitive in its ninth straight loss. Boston jumped to a 28-2 lead in a game that was not in doubt. Grizzlies 135, Clippers 109: Ja Morant scored 30 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 26 with 11 rebounds as host Memphis rolled to its sixth win in its past seven games. Isaiah Hartenstein led Los Angeles with 19 points off the bench.
Hawks 133, Pacers 112: Trae Young scored 34 points and host Atlanta regained its 3point touch, overwhelming trade-depleted Indiana.
After making only 5 of 25 3-point tries in Sunday’s 103-94 loss at Dallas, the Hawks sank 17 of 33 long-range shots.
Chris Duarte had 25 points to lead the Pacers, who had only eight healthy players after Tuesday’s six-player trade sent three players, including twotime All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, to Sacramento. Pelicans 110, Rockets 97:
Host New Orleans won its fourth straight game behind 26 points from Brandon Ingram. Kevin Porter Jr. scored 27 points to lead Houston, which lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Beal update: Washington guard Bradley Beal will undergo season-ending surgery for a torn ligament in his left wrist, the team announced. Beal, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game this season, suffered the injury Jan. 29 during a game against the Grizzlies.
“Despite the last 10 days of getting intensive treatment and rehab on my wrist, it became clear that I would not be able to compete to my standards or to the level that our team and our fans deserve,” Beal said in a statement. “I’m disappointed to have my season end this way, but we all agreed that this was the best decision. I look forward to coming back at 100% and continuing to lead this team as we work together to build toward the future.”