Booker has 35, Suns beat Sixers for 8th win in a row
Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 19 points and 14 assists and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns won their eighth straight game, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-104 on Sunday.
It was an intriguing matchup between two teams with an eye on the NBA Finals. The Suns have wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and best record in the league, while the 76ers are fighting Milwaukee, Boston and Miami for the top spot in the East. The loss left the 76ers are tied with the Bucks, a half-game behind the Celtics and Heat.
Phoenix is 61-14 , a victory shy of trying the franchise season victory record. The 76ers had their three-game winning streak snapped despite another big game from Joel Embiid, who had 37 points and 15 rebounds.
Philadelphia’s other star, James Harden, had a tough game, shooting 2 of 11 from the field. He had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
The Suns took a 91-86 lead into the final quarter. They pushed that advantage to 101-90 by midway through the quarter, but the 76ers scored 10 straight points — highlighted by two 3-pointers from Tyrese Maxey — to get back it it.
But Booker responded by making another tough jumper while getting fouled by Danny Green and the Suns pulled away for the victory. Booker shot 13 of 22 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, in one of his more efficient games this season.
The 76ers took a 39-37 lead into the second quarter despite Booker’s 22 points in the first on 8-of-11 shooting. When Booker went to the bench to start the second quarter, the 76ers responded with a 12-0 run.
Philadelphia led the entire second quarter and took a 64-60 lead into the break. Embiid had 19 points and eight rebounds before the break while Tobias Harris added 15 points.
KNICKS 104, PISTONS 102 »
Alec Burks hit a 3-pointer for New York’s final points and finished off Detroit with a last-second steal in the Knicks’ 104-102 victory over the Pistons on Sunday.
R.J. Barrett led New York with 21 points, Julian Randle had 20 and Burks and Immanuel Quickly had 18 each.
Trailing by two, the Pistons called a timeout to set up a final play with 6.6 seconds left. Killian Hayes inbounded the ball to Cade Cunningham, but Burks stripped the ball as he tried to drive.
Marvin Bagley III led Detroit with 27 points, and Cunningham added 18.
CELTICS 134, TIMBERWOLVES 112 »
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday night to help the Boston Celtics coast to their sixth straight win, 134-112 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Celtics won for the 24th time in their last 28 games, and this one came at the expense of the team that until recently had been the second-hottest in the NBA.
Minnesota is 12-5 since the All-Star break, winning 10 of 11 before back-to-back losses to Phoenix and Dallas this week.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 as the Timberwolves opened a four-game trip with a loss — their third in four games. WIZARDS 123, WARRIORS 115 » Corey Kispert scored 16 of his career-high 25 points in the first half, and the Washington Wizards beat the struggling Golden State Warriors 123-115 on Sunday night.
Golden State has lost five of its last six, and the Warriors never led in this game. Golden State was without Stephen Curry (left foot sprain) for a fifth straight
contest, and Andre Iguodala (low back injury) was also out. James Wiseman (right knee injury) is done for the season.
Washington is not exactly healthy either, with Bradley Beal (left wrist surgery) and Kyle Kuzma (right knee tendinitis) missing this game, but the Wizards won their second straight — their first back-to-back victories since a three-game streak from Jan. 9-12.
Kispert made six 3-pointers, also a career high. That gives him 96 on the season, surpassing the franchise’s rookie record of 91 set by Beal in 2012-13. Kristaps Porzingis scored 23 points for Washington and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 22.