Devin Booker poured in a season-high 48 points and the Phoenix Suns were at their best in the final nine minutes while pulling away for a 121-107 win over the host San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Phoenix has won four straight games, all on the road, to improve on the league’s best record away from home (17-4). The Suns have won seven of their past eight games overall after defeating San Antonio for the third time in three meetings this year.
Booker hit 18 of 33 shots, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range. Bismack Biyombo scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Suns, with Chris Paul adding 15 points and 12 assists. Deandre Ayton was out with a right ankle injury.
Jakob Poeltl paced the Spurs with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Dejounte Murray added 18 points and Doug McDermott scored 15.
Lakers 101, Jazz 95
LeBron James scored 25 points and Stanley Johnson added a season-high 15 as host Los Angeles rallied to knock off Utah and end a three-game losing streak.
Russell Westbrook also had 15 points and Malik Monk added 14 points for the Lakers, who won for the first time since Jan. 7 despite facing a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. James contributed seven rebounds and seven assists.
Utah’s Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his second game back from a five-game COVID-19 absence, and Mike Conley added 20 points. The Jazz fell for the fifth time in their past six games.
Hornets 97, Knicks 87
Miles Bridges scored a career-high 38 points as Charlotte drubbed host New York.
Bridges shot 14 of 20 from the field, making five 3-pointers. Terry Rozier added 22 points and seven assists as the Hornets won for the fifth time in their last six games. Charlotte won without star guard LaMelo Ball (non-COVID illness).
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett both notched 18 points for the Knicks, who made the final score respectable by finishing the game on a 16-3 run. Randle grabbed 10 boards and Barrett corralled 12.
Mavericks 104, Thunder 102
Luka Doncic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists as host Dallas held off a spirited comeback attempt by Oklahoma City, which trailed by 22 in the third quarter.
The Thunder had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds after the Mavericks’ Josh Green missed two free throws with 2.6 seconds left. However, Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. wrestled the inbounds pass away from Mike Muscala.
Dorian Finney-Smith added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 34 points, while Luguentz Dort added 18 points and seven rebounds. The Thunder lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Trail Blazers 98, Magic 88
Jusuf Nurkic had 21 points and a season-high 22 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 16 points in a successful return to the lineup, and Portland won at Orlando.
Back after missing 18 games recovering from a collapsed lung, McCollum went 7-for-13 from the field in 28 minutes as the Trail Blazers improved to 2-1 on a six-game road trip. Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner paced the Magic with 14 points apiece.
The Magic announced prior to tipoff that head coach Jamahl Mosley and assistant coach Nate Tibbetts had entered the league’s health and safety protocol. Assistant coach Jesse Mermuys ran the team as Orlando lost its eighth straight home game and its 12th in its past 13 overall.
Heat 104, Raptors 99
Jimmy Butler had a triple-double and Bam Adebayo returned after missing 22 games, leading host Miami past Toronto.
Butler had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Adebayo, who underwent surgery on his right thumb, posted 14 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes. Tyler Herro added a team-high 23 points for Miami, which improved to 14-5 at home.
Chris Boucher scored 23 points to lead the Raptors, who are 7-3 in their past 10 games. Fred VanVleet added 22 points. Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, who had a triple-double in his previous game, finished with 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals.
Hawks 121, Bucks 114
Trae Young scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Atlanta to a win over Milwaukee, snapping a five-game overall losing streak and a 10-game home losing streak.
De’Andre Hunter added 20 points and nine rebounds and John Collins had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for the Hawks, who trailed by 11 points early in the fourth quarter.
Khris Middleton scored a season-high 34 points while added seven rebounds and four assists for the Bucks, who have dropped six of their past eight games. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Wizards 117, 76ers 98
Montrezl Harrell scored 18 points and Kyle Kuzma added 15 points and 16 rebounds as host Washington defeated Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 32 points and eight rebounds. It was the 11th consecutive road game in which Embiid produced at least 30 points. The Sixers played without several key injured players, including Matisse Thybulle, Danny Green and Shake Milton.
Washington’s Bradley Beal, who cleared the COVID-19 protocol before the game, scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half.
Celtis 104, Pelicans 92
Jayson Tatum scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Boston rallied from 18 points down to beat visiting New Orleans.
Dennis Schroder added 23 points with nine assists and five boards as the Celtics earned a second straight win and their fifth victory in six games overall.
Jonas Valanciunas posted 22 points and 14 boards to pace the Pelicans, who took a second straight loss after winning three of their previous four contests.
Cavaliers 114, Nets 107
Darius Garland collected 22 points and 12 assists as the host Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets to extend their winning streak to five games.
Brooklyn scored just two points over the final 3:43 of the contest. It was the Nets’ first game since announcing Kevin Durant was sidelined with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 27 points, but he shot 2 of 7 in the fourth quarter after scoring 14 points in the third quarter.
Grizzlies 119, Bulls 106
Desmond Bane and Ja Morant scored 25 points apiece as Memphis routed visiting Chicago.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 28 and never trailed in the final three quarters. Steven Adams finished with 10 rebounds, six assists and two points for Memphis, which held Bulls center Nikola Vucevic scoreless in the first half.
The Bulls lost their fourth straight and played without several key players, including Lonzo Ball (left knee), Zach LaVine (left knee) and Alex Caruso (health and safety protocol). DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points to lead Chicago.
Clippers 139, Pacers 133
Nicolas Batum scored a season-high 32 points to help Los Angeles hold off visiting Indiana.
Batum made 7 of 10 from 3-point range to lead the Clippers, who hit 18 of 36 from beyond the arc. Marcus Morris Sr. scored 21 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and Reggie Jackson added 26 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Caris LeVert led the Pacers with 26 points and Chris Duarte scored 24 points off the bench. Goga Bitadze added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench.
—Field Level Media
