LOS ANGELES, Nov 28 — Devin Booker scored 30 points and the Phoenix Suns led wire-to-wire to easily beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-107 and extend their winning streak to 16 games on Saturday.
The Suns now have the second longest winning streak in franchise history as they survived a late comeback by Brooklyn. They are trying to equal the 2006-07 team which holds the record of 17 straight wins. Phoenix plays Golden State on Tuesday.
Booker did most of his damage in the first and third quarters, shooting nine of 18 from the floor overall and nailing four three pointers in 32 minutes of playing time.
Chris Paul finished with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds and recorded his 5,000th career rebound in the second quarter in front of the crowd of 18,070 at Barclays Centre arena.
Mikal Bridges added 13 while Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee contributed 10 apiece in the win.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 39 points for the Nets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
James Harden shot just four of 15 from the floor but finished with a triple double of 12 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds.
Elsewhere, Taurean Prince made a clutch layup with four seconds remaining in double overtime to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 121-120 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
D'Angelo Russell led the Timberwolves with 35 points as they had to overcome a 42 point and 14 rebound performance by Joel Embiid, who missed three weeks because of Covid-19.
Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out and Anthony Edwards scored 19 and Naz Reid chipped in 13 in the win.
The 27-year-old Embiid had a chance to win it but had his shot blocked as time expired in the second overtime.
The Timberwolves won their sixth-straight game as they were aggressive at both ends of the court.
The Timberwolves reached the .500 mark this week for the first time since the opening stretch of the season.
They began the season by winning three of their first four games before a six-game losing streak. The winning streak includes five victories by a double-digit margin.
Tobias Harris added 17 points, Tyrese Maxey had 15 and Seth Curry 14 for the Sixers.
Centre Embiid was back in the lineup after missing nine games. He tested positive for the coronavirus on November 8. Embiid was averaging 21.4 points and 9.6 rebounds in nine games before his positive test.
The Sixers struggled in his absence by losing seven of the nine games.
Embiid was runner-up for MVP honours last season when he averaged 28.5 points and 10.6 rebounds in 51 games. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic won the award. — AFP
