Devin Booker scored 30 points as the Phoenix Suns never trailed, survived a late comeback attempt by the host Brooklyn Nets and pushed their winning streak to 16 games with a 113-107 victory Saturday night.
The Suns are on their second-longest winning streak in team history. Phoenix can match the 2006-07 team for the longest winning streak in franchise lore by beating the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
Chris Paul added 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Paul shot 9 of 19 and notched his 5,000th career rebound in the second.
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 39 points, but Brooklyn saw its four-game winning streak stopped.
Timberwolves 121, 76ers 120 (2 OT)
Taurean Prince hit a layup with 4.8 seconds left in double overtime to lift Minnesota past host Philadelphia in 76ers star Joel Embiid’s first game since Nov. 6.
D’Angelo Russell led the Timberwolves with 35 points while Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Anthony Edwards contributed 19 points and Naz Reid had 13. Jarred Vanderbilt swept 14 rebounds.
Embiid returned from a three-week COVID-19 absence to produce 42 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers. Embiid had his shot blocked as time expired in the second overtime.
Knicks 99, Hawks 90
Alec Burks, making his first start of the season, scored 15 of his team-high 23 points to spark a decisive third-quarter run as visiting New York went on to defeat Atlanta.
The 23 points were a season high for Burks, who started because Kemba Walker sat out the second game of a back-to-back set. Evan Fournier finished with 20 points, RJ Barrett added 15 and Obi Toppin netted 13 points off the bench for the Knicks, who have alternated wins and losses over the last seven games.
Trae Young scored 33 points and Clint Capela had 16 points and a season-high 21 rebounds for the Hawks, whose seven-game winning streak was snapped. John Collins added 12 points.
Rockets 146, Hornets 143 (OT)
Christian Wood scored 33 points and Houston finally put away visiting Charlotte to notch its first back-to-back wins of the season.
Houston has won just three of 19 games this season, and two of those have come across a four-night span. This one came against a Hornets team that had won eight of its previous nine games.
The Rockets sank 23 shots from 3-point range. This came a night after Charlotte matched its franchise record by making 23 shots from 3-point territory.
Heat 107, Bulls 104
Gabe Vincent came off the bench to score 20 points as Miami combined balanced offense and stifling defense to end their four-game road swing with a defeat of Chicago.
The Heat forced the Bulls into 22 turnovers, which Miami converted into 21 points. Coupled with holding Chicago to just 38-of-81 shooting from the floor, including 11-of-39 from 3-point range, the Heat rode their defense to a win that salvaged a .500 mark on the road trip.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor. Alex Caruso went 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, en route to 22 points off the bench.
Wizards 120, Mavericks 114
Bradley Beal had 26 points and seven assists and visiting Washington rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat Dallas.
Kyle Kuzma added 22 points and nine rebounds and Washington snapped a five-game losing streak in Dallas. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 as six Wizards reached double figures.
Luka Doncic of Dallas led all scorers with 33 points and had 10 assists. Trey Burke scored 14 points and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
Cavaliers 105, Magic 92
Darius Garland had a season-high 26 points to go with 11 assists, Jarrett Allen posted his own double-double, and host Cleveland ended their five-game losing streak with a victory over Orlando.
Garland became the fourth-youngest player in franchise history to reach 2,000 points when he sank a short baseline jumper with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter. Allen (8-for-9 shooting) scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half and he finished with 11 rebounds, helping Cleveland defeat the Magic for the first time since March 3, 2019.
The Magic, who went 8-for-32 from 3-point range, have lost six in a row and nine of their last 10. Eleven of Orlando’s 17 defeats have been by double digits.
Jazz 127, Pelicans 105
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson each added 20, and Utah rebounded from recent disappointing performances at home to rout New Orleans in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell, Conley, Clarkson, Rudy Gay and Joe Ingles each drained at least three 3-pointers as the Jazz shot 57.1 percent (20-for-35) from long range and 56.2 percent overall to avenge Friday’s heartbreaking last-second 98-97 loss to New Orleans.
Mitchell, who has been struggling to find his groove lately, played like his usual self in the first half when Utah built a commanding lead, scoring 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting with seven assists and five rebounds.