Hardaway Jr shines as Mavs rally from 22 down to beat Jazz
Monday 10 August 2020 22:59, UK
Devin Booker scored 35 points as the Phoenix Suns continued their surprising undefeated run through the NBA bubble, cruising to a 128-101 win over the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Devin Booker scored 35 points as the Phoenix Suns continued their surprising undefeated run through the NBA bubble, cruising to a 128-101 win over the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Booker, who sat out the fourth quarter, notched his 90th career 30-point game and tied Suns legend Walter Davis for most 30-point games in franchise history.
Mikal Bridges and rookie Cameron Johnson added 18 points each for the Suns (32-39), who have won all six seeding games in the bubble and remain in the thick of the race for a postseason berth.
Darius Bazley's 22 points and 10 rebounds led the Thunder (43-27). Oklahoma City, who lost a 15-point lead in the first half, has already clinched a playoff spot and is 3-3 in the bubble.
The Thunder were without several regulars. Center Steven Adams and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were held out with leg bruises. Forward Danilo Gallinari rested his left ankle, center Nerlens Noel was out with a sprained ankle, and guard Dennis Schroder remains away from the team for personal reasons.
Suns center Deandre Ayton did not start the game because he missed his coronavirus test on Sunday, and had to be cleared Monday morning. He missed the first quarter.
The Thunder grabbed a 37-23 lead after one quarter after hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers.
A flagrant foul gave the Suns' Cameron Payne three free throws, and trimmed the Thunder lead to 60-58 with 3:14 left in the first half.
The Suns took their first lead of the game, 65-64, with 20 seconds left, with Jevon Carter getting a steal and feeding Ayton for a fast-break dunk.
Ayton's hook shot down low gave the Suns a 76-66 lead with 9:32 left in the third quarter, and after Booker drilled a triple from 40 feet away, the Suns grabbed a 13-point lead.
Phoenix took a 98-81 lead into the final quarter and were never challenged in the fourth.
Tim Hardaway Jr led Dallas with 27 points and Seth Curry added 22 to guide the Mavericks to a 122-114 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Boban Marjanovic added 20 points and nine rebounds and JJ Barea chipped in 18 for the Mavericks (43-30), who rallied from a 22-point deficit.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points to lead Utah. Rayjon Tucker added a career-high 17 points while Emmanuel Mudiay added 14 and Georges Niang chipped in 13 for the Jazz (43-28), who blew a late double-digit lead for a second straight game.
Both teams were missing key players. The Mavericks rested Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Dorian Finney-Smith. Donovan Mitchell sat out for the Jazz.
Curry drained two three-pointers in a 40-second span late in the contest to help Dallas seal the win.
Utah took a 70-54 half-time lead after scoring on eight of their final nine possessions of the second quarter. The Jazz ripped off a 15-2 run in that stretch, culminating in a four-point play by Clarkson.
Utah rested all five starters after halftime and still did not skip a beat in the third quarter. Miye Oni made back-to-back baskets to fuel a quick 8-0 spurt that boosted the Jazz lead to 78-56 less than two minutes into the quarter.
Dallas rallied and erased the deficit early in the fourth quarter. Maxi Kleber scored four baskets to fuel an 18-1 run that put the Mavericks up 103-101.
