Booker’s 52 help Suns top Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS — Devin Booker scored 52 points, the fifth-highest scoring game of his career, to power the Phoenix Suns to a 124-111 victory over New Orleans on Monday night, bringing them within a game of the Pelicans for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

Rebounding from a 128-103 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday night, the Suns (44-31) inched closer to New Orleans (45-30). The teams play again in Phoenix on Sunday.

Booker became the first NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain to score at least 50 points in three consecutive games against the same opponent.

In addition to his 52point outburst in Phoenix’s 123-109 victory over New Orleans in the Smoothie King Center on Jan. 19, Booker scored 58 points against New Orleans in a 118-114 home win over the Pelicans on Dec. 12, 2022.

“It means a whole lot,” said Booker, a native of Moss Point, Miss., located 110 miles from New Orleans, who had 40 relatives and friends in the stands. “My family was in attendance for two of them. Any time you get named for something Wilt did — it’s happened very few times in my career — you know you did something special.”

Tatum, Celtics ease past Hornets

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Sam Hauser poured in 25 points on seven 3s as Boston avenged an early season loss to host Charlotte with a 118-104 victory on Monday night.

Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and Derrick White had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who’ve won 11 of their last 13 games.

Hauser finished 7-of-11 from beyond the arc and the Celtics made 19 3s against the Hornets to avenge a 121-118 overtime loss from Nov. 20 in Charlotte, when Miles Bridges hit a game-winning 3 with 6.6 seconds left.

Boston (59-16), which has already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, is now 27-0 this season when it makes at least 18 3-pointers in a game.

Haliburton leads Pacers past Nets

Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points and had 13 assists to lead Indiana to a 133-111 rout of visiting Brooklyn on Monday night.

Despite being ejected for a flagrant foul midway through the third quarter, Pacers forward Jalen Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nets’ Dennis Schroder was called for a technical foul for flailing on the follow-through and hitting Smith’s face. Then Smith was called for a flagrant foul and ejected when he retaliated by pushing Schroder. The two had to be separated.

Magic give Blazers 10th straight loss

Franz Wagner scored 20 points as the host Orlando Magic escaped with a 104-103 win over the struggling Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Deandre Ayton missed an open baseline jumper at the final horn for the Blazers, who have lost 10 in a row. Three nights after losing by 60 points in Miami, the Blazers came back twice in the second half and put themselves into position to win the game with the final shot.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero each scored 15 points for the Magic.