Suns, 76ers advance to second round
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Paul went 14 for 14 in the best shooting night in NBA playoff history, Devin Booker returned from a hamstring injury to hit a late 3-pointer and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-109 on Thursday night to finish off the first-round series in six games.
Paul had the most field goals without a miss in a playoff game, hit all four of his free throws and had eight assists as the top-seeded Suns overcame a 10-point halftime deficit.
Phoenix will face the Dallas-utah winner in the second round.
Paul helped put the Suns up for good, at 102-101, on an assist on Deandre Ayton’s dunk with 2:12 left. Ayton had 22 points on 10of-12 shooting.
The Suns erased the 10point halftime deficit by making 13 of their first 14 shots in the third quarter to take a 77-74 lead. At that point, Paul was 10 of 10 from the field and Ayton was 6 of 6. Paul had 13 points in the quarter, but New Orleans used an 11-5 run to take an 85-82 lead into the final period.
76ERS 132, RAPTORS
TORONTO — Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds, James Harden added 22 points and 15 assists and Philadelphia beat Toronto in Game 6 to end the first-round series.
Philadelphia will face Miami in the second round. The top-seeded Heat beat Atlanta in five games.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, going 5 for 12 from 3-point range, and Tobias Harris had 19 points and 11 rebounds, to help the 76ers finish off the Raptors with a blowout after losing the past two games.
Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, Pascal Siakam fouled out with 24 points.
Toronto played without all-star guard Fred Vanvleet. He missed his second straight game because of a strained left hip flexor.