Towns leads T’Wolves past shorthanded Suns
Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Phoenix 119-108 on Sunday, taking advantage of high-scoring Suns guard Devin Booker’s absence.
Jimmy Butler had 25 points, and Andrew Wiggins added 21 for Minnesota.
The Suns announced shortly before the game that Booker, who scored 35 points in Phoenix’s home victory over Minnesota on Nov. 11, would sit out because of an injured big right toe.
With Booker out, the Suns got another big game from their bench, led by Mike James with a career-high 26 points. But Minnesota started the third quarter with a 22-11 run, and Phoenix couldn’t find an offensive spark to seriously threaten the rest of the way.
HEAT 109, BULLS 93 >> Goran Dragic scored 24 points and Miami followed the lowest-scoring first quarter in team history with their highestscoring one of the season to beat Chicago.
After scoring seven points in the first quarter,
Miami had 38 in the second to take a 45-42 lead.
Wayne Ellington added 19 points, James Johnson had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Hassan Whiteside had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jerian Grant led Chicago with 24 points.
NETS 98, GRIZZLIES 88 >> DeMarre Carroll scored a season-high 24 points, Trevor Booker added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over struggling Memphis.