UNDATED (AP) — The Phoenix Suns welcomed back one of their two All-Star guards and coasted to victory in Miami.
Devin Booker returned from NBA protocols to score 23 points in the Suns’ rout of the Heat, 111-90. Booker also had nine assists and eight rebounds as Phoenix won a battle of conference leaders. He missed the Suns’ previous four games due to virus-related issues.
Mikal Bridges finished with 21 points as the Suns improved to a league-best 53-13. Deandre Ayton had 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
Duncan Robinson had a team-high 22 points for Miami, which lost for just the third time in 15 games.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
— The Bucks picked up their sixth straight win as Giannis Antetokounmpo provided 43 points and 12 rebounds in a 124-115 decision over the Hawks. Bobby Portis added 23 points and 15 rebounds and Khris Middleton had 23 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, which beat Atlanta for the first time in three tries this season. Trae Young paced the Hawks with 27 points and 11 assists.
— Jayson Tatum delivered 16 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ fourth straight win, 115-101 versus the Hornets. Tatum made 16 of 24 shots from the field and 6 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc after scoring 54 points in his previous game against the Nets. Jaylen Brown had 15 points, while Robert Williams chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds
— DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls downed the Pistons, 114-108 to end a five-game losing streak. Zach LeVine added 25 points and Nikola Vucevic had 21 for Chicago, which won despite only hitting three 3-pointers. Cade Cunningham had 22 points for the Pistons, but none of his teammates scored more than 12.
— Bojan Bogdanovic drained six 3-pointers and poured in 27 points to highlight Utah’s 123-95 thrashing of the Trail Blazers. Donovan Mitchell added 16 points while Royce O’Neale chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who won their eighth straight home game. Trendon Watford scored a career-high 22 points to lead Portland.
— Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists in the Nuggets’ 12th win in their last 14 games, 106-100 versus the Kings. Monte Morris added 20 points and made a critical three-point play late to help preserve the Nuggets’ fourth consecutive win. Sacramento erased an 18-point deficit and received 32 points and 10 assists from De’Aaron Fox.
— Julius Randle dropped in 26 points and the Knicks won for the fifth consecutive time in Dallas by blowing out the Mavericks 107-77. RJ Barrett added 18 points for the Knicks, who won their third straight following a seven-game losing streak and improved to 3-2 on a season-long seven-game road trip. Luka Doncic scored 17 of his 33 points in the third quarter for Mavs, who missed their first 19 3-point shots.
— Malik Beasley dropped in 33 points on a team-record 11 3-pointers as the Timberwolves cruised to their sixth straight win, a 132-102 rout of the Thunder. Taurean Prince scored 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, while Karl-Anthony Towns recorded another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. Aaron Wiggins led Oklahoma City with 25 points and nine rebounds.
— Fred VanVleet had 26 points as the Raptors beat the Spurs, 119-104, delaying Gregg Popovich’s coronation as the winningest coach in NBA history. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam added 20 points to help Toronto snap a three-game skid. Keldon Johnson had 27 points for San Antonio, and Murray added 25 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
— The Clippers scored the final 11 points in a 115-109 victory over the Washington Wizards. Nicolas Batum hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds remaining. Reggie Jackson scored 31 points, including two free throws that put the Clippers ahead by four in the waning moments.
— Rookie Jalen Green scored 10 of his career-high 32 points in overtime as the Rockets handed the Lakers their ninth consecutive road loss, 139-130. The Rockets withstood a triple-double from LeBron James and 30 points from Russell Westbrook to get just their second win in 15 games. James had 23 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high 12 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.
— The Magic beat the Pelicans, 108-102 as Cole Anthony scored 19 points and Gary Harris added 16 in a reserve role. Terrence Ross scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3s and a 360-degree, right-handed dunk. CJ McCollum scored 32 for the Pelicans, who were playing without leading scorer Brandon Ingram and have lost three straight on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
Kings’ Sabonis suspended 1 game
NEW YORK (AP) — Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis was suspended for Wednesday’s game against Denver for what the NBA says was aggressively confronting and making contact with an official who called him for a technical foul.
Sabonis was ejected in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks after receiving double technicals. The first was for unsportsmanlike reaction to a called foul. He then approached and bumped the official, which led to the second technical and his ejection.
