Devin Booker scored a season-high 58 points and Chris Paul canned a crucial 3-pointer late as the Phoenix Suns rallied from 24 points down in the third quarter to outlast the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 118-114 on Saturday.
The Pelicans led by 17 points at the break but only by five after the third quarter when Booker and Paul engineered a 15-0 run midway through the period. Phoenix retook the lead for the first time since late in the opening quarter on Paul’s 3-pointer with 5:24 to play.
Paul added 18 points for Phoenix while Mikal Bridges hit for 15 and Bismack Biyombo had 11. The Suns have won two straight after five consecutive losses.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 30 points, with CJ McCollum scoring 27 (just three after halftime), Jonas Valanciunas adding 12 and Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado tallying 11 and 10, respectively. New Orleans has dropped three straight games.
Clippers 102, Wizards 93
Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 31 points and shot 4 of 5 from the floor in the fourth quarter to power Los Angeles’ late-game push to defeat visiting Washington.
The five-time All-NBA honoree played perhaps his best game since sustaining a torn ACL in the 2021 playoffs, completing his highest-scoring effort since April 2021 with nine rebounds and three steals. Luke Kennard provided pop off the bench with 20 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 19 points, Deni Avdija recorded a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma finished with 17 points.
Heat 111, Spurs 101
Jimmy Butler scored 26 points and Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 13 rebounds as Miami played its best in the fourth quarter to beat San Antonio in Mexico City in the NBA’s first game south of the border since 2019.
The Heat won their fourth straight road game and moved above .500 for the first time this season. Tyler Herro added 21 points for Miami, and Robinson and Max Strus scored 12 each.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 22 points, while Devin Vassell scored 18 and Zach Collins added 13. Jakob Poeltl returned after missing seven games with a knee injury and had seven points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
Bucks 123, Jazz 97
Two nights after losing by 41 points in Memphis, short-handed Milwaukee paid the punishment forward by walloping visiting Utah.
Bobby Portis scored 22 with 14 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 21 points and eight assists and Brook Lopez contributed 18 points and eight boards as the Bucks benefited from a 67-point turnaround from the lopsided loss to the Grizzlies.
Lauri Markkanen and Malik Beasley both scored 18 points for the Jazz, who scored fewer than 100 points for just the second time this season.
Cavaliers 100, Mavericks 99 (OT)
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points and Darius Garland collected 18 points and 12 assists to lift host Cleveland to an overtime victory over short-handed Dallas.
Evan Mobley recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists to send the Cavaliers to their second win over the Mavericks in four days. Cleveland posted a 105-90 victory over Dallas on Wednesday.
Dallas played without three-time All-Star Luka Doncic (right quad strain), Spencer Dinwiddie (right knee), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), Dwight Powell (left thigh contusion) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring).
Thunder 115, Grizzlies 109
Luguentz Dort tied a season high with 24 points to help host Oklahoma City snap a five-game losing streak with a victory over Memphis.
Isaiah Joe added a career-high 23 points, hitting five 3-pointers. The Thunder hit a season-high 19 from beyond the arc. The Thunder pulled off the win despite being without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, their two leading scorers.
Oklahoma City controlled the second quarter, outscoring Memphis 39-22. The Grizzlies were just 6 of 20 from the floor in the quarter, with Ja Morant missing all four of his shots. Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 32 points to lead the Grizzlies, who shot a season-low 37.8 percent from the floor.
Trail Blazers 107, Rockets 95
Anfernee Simons scored a game-high 32 points while Damian Lillard and Josh Hart each recorded a double-double as Portland cruised to a road victory over Houston.
Lillard paired 25 points with 10 assists and surpassed 18,000 career points in the first half. Hart recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds. Nurkic had 14 points and anchored the interior defense.
The Rockets, who shot miserably from start to finish, received 15 points from Jalen Green and 13 from Kevin Porter Jr. That tandem was 8-for-26 overall and 0-for-12 from behind the arc. Alperen Sengun totaled 10 points and eight rebounds but shot just 4-for-11 from the floor. Houston missed 26 of 29 3-pointers and shot 40 percent overall.
–Field Level Media
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