NBA ROUNDUP
Suns 123, Celtics 119
Devin Booker had 39 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Phoenix overcame a franchise-record 11 3-pointers by Boston’s Marcus Smart and beat the Celtics on Saturday night. Deandre Ayton had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Mikal Bridges added a career-best 26 points for the Suns, who have won four of their last five games. Smart shot 11 for 22 from 3-point range and finished with a career-best 37 points. His performance marked the first time in NBA history that a player made 11 or more 3-points in a losing effort, according to Stats. Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and Gordon Hayward added 22 for Boston, which has lost three straight and six of eight. Three years ago, Booker scored 70 points in a loss to the Celtics in TD Garden. He finished an assist shy of his first career triple-double. The Celtics were missing two of their top three leading scorers — Kemba Walker (team-best 22.1 per game), out with left knee soreness, and Jaylen Brown (20.0), sidelined for the second straight game with a sprained right thumb. Boston cut its deficit to 90-85 early in the fourth, but Dario Saric and Bridges answered with consecutive 3s. The Celtics had it down to 114-111 on Daniel Theis’ breakaway dunk with about a minute left, but Bridges hit a jumper in the lane with 37 seconds to play. Booker’s two free throws sealed it with 4.8 seconds left. The Suns led 60-51 at halftime and answered — mainly behind Booker and Ayton — any surge by Boston. The lead never fell below seven in the quarter, with Booker scoring nine points and Ayton getting eight. The loss of two key players showed for the Celtics in the first quarter when the Suns broke in front 26-10 before Boston’s bench helped spark a 15-0 run.
Bucks 117, Nets 97
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 12 rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 20 points, and Milwaukee beat Brooklyn on Saturday night for its sixth straight victory. The Bucks ran the NBA’s best record to 38-6 with another romp. They came in beating opponents by 12.4 points per game, which would be a league record if it holds up all season, and their lead was never below that after Middleton hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute of the second quarter when Brooklyn was within nine. Milwaukee coasted from there and fell just short of a fifth consecutive game with 120 points, which would have tied a franchise record set last season. The Bucks shot 50% from the field, made 17 3-pointers and held the short-handed Nets to 33% shooting. Kyrie Irving had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Nets. Rookie reserve Nic Claxton added 14 points and six boards. The Bucks, who didn’t trail in either of their previous two games, fell behind by four early in this one. They quickly erased that and closed the first quarter with a 7-0 run for a 30-22 lead.