Devin Booker scored 33, and Chris Paul added 16 points and 16 assists as the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Utah Jazz 111-105 Friday night in Salt Lake City.
The result added another W to the best ever record for Phoenix and boosted the NBA-leading Suns to a franchise-record 32nd win on the road.
Deandre Ayton (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Mikal Bridges (18 points) stood out on both ends of the court in the final quarter as the Suns outscored the Jazz 36-13. This rally came two days after Phoenix reserves nearly overcame a 39-point deficit against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 21 points and Rudy Gobert compiled his 52nd double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Utah had a chance to clinch the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoffs — the Suns are locked in at the top — but the Jazz are now tied with the Denver Nuggets.
The Jazz wrap up their regular season Sunday night in Portland at the same time Denver hosts the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers. Utah will earn the fifth seed with a win, and will fall to No. 6 with a loss and a Denver victory.
Bucks 131, Pistons 101
Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 30 points as visiting Milwaukee defeated Detroit to clinch at least the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Antetokounmpo also had 13 rebounds and eight assists while shooting 9 of 16 from the field to lead Milwaukee over Detroit for the third time this season. Brook Lopez chipped in 17 points, Khris Middleton contributed 15 and Jrue Holiday posted 10 to go along with nine assists.
Reserve Rodney McGruder paced the Pistons with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Saddiq Bey contributed 20 points and Cade Cunningham finished with 14, seven assists and six rebounds.
Nets 118, Cavaliers 107
Kevin Durant scored 36 points as host Brooklyn used a big fourth quarter to survive blowing an early 17-point lead in a victory over Cleveland in New York.
Durant made 11 of 20 shots, including the go-ahead 3-pointer that put Brooklyn up 95-93 with 8:52 left. Kyrie Irving added 18 points and eight assists for Brooklyn, which shot 46.7 percent. Bruce Brown nearly posted a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Andre Drummond contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Darius Garland scored 31 points for the Cavs but took a hard fall with 3:54 remaining when he collided with Irving. Lauri Markkanen added 17 and Evan Mobley also finished with 17 in his return from an ankle injury.
Knicks 114, Wizards 92
Obi Toppin scored a career-high 35 points as visiting New York overcame the loss of star forward RJ Barrett to cruise past Washington.
The Knicks also overcame an early double-digit deficit in the penultimate game of the season for both teams. Toppin shattered his previous career-high of 20 points, set Saturday and Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. Toppin, who hadn’t hit more than four 3-pointers in a game entering Friday, was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc against the Wizards.
Rui Hachimura scored 21 points for the Wizards, while Deni Avdija had 11 points. Raul Neto added 14 points off the bench while fellow reserve Thomas Bryant recorded 10 rebounds.
Heat 113, Hawks 109
Tyler Herro’s 3-pointer and Bam Adebayo’s dunk in the final two minutes helped Miami complete a fourth-quarter rally and beat visiting Atlanta.
Miami came into the matchup having already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but held nothing back in a competitive game that could be a first-round playoff preview.
Tyler Herro scored five of his 15 points down the stretch, including a key pull-up 3-pointer to give Miami the lead with 1:44 to go. Jimmy Butler scored 20 points, and Gabe Vincent added 11 points for the Heat. Atlanta’s Trae Young led all scorers with 35 points,
Hornets 133, Bulls 117
LaMelo Ball scored all 24 of his points in the first half and four reserves reached double figures as visiting Charlotte posted a victory against struggling Chicago.
The Hornets led by more than 30 points in the first half in the second-to-last game of the regular season for both teams. Both squads will be in the postseason. The Bulls have lost four games in a row.
Miles Bridges finished with 20 points and Terry Rozier had 15 for Charlotte. Zach LaVine’s 23 points led the Bulls.
Raptors 117, Rockets 115
Gary Trent Jr. sank a floater with 4.8 seconds left and Toronto erased a 24-point deficit to defeat visiting Houston.
Trent finished with 26 points and capped a wild closing stretch, one that included the Raptors taking their first lead since early in the first quarter on a Scottie Barnes layup with 3:40 remaining.
Toronto won for the eighth time in nine games and secured at worst the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Pascal Siakam paced the Raptors with 29 points while Kevin Porter Jr. paired 35 points with 10 rebounds for Houston, which has dropped six in a row.
Mavericks 128, Trail Blazers 78
Luka Doncic poured in 39 points in just 30 minutes and Dallas kept its hopes alive of finishing third in the Western Conference with a shellacking of visiting Portland.
Dwight Powell continued his near-perfect shooting of late with seven consecutive hoops on an 18-point night as the Mavericks moved within a half-game of the Golden State Warriors entering the final weekend of the regular season.
Doncic’s 39 points came on 12-for-21 shooting overall and 7-for-14 on 3-pointers. He even squeezed 11 free throws, making eight, into his 30 minutes. Drew Eubanks had 18 points, Ben McLemore 14 and Keon Johnson 10 for the Trail Blazers, who dropped their 10th straight.
Lakers 120, Thunder 101
Stanley Johnson scored 21 points and Wenyen Gabriel added 16 as Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting Oklahoma City with their stars watching from the bench during the home finale.
LeBron James (ankle), Anthony Davis (foot), Russell Westbrook (shoulder) and Carmelo Anthony (non-COVID illness) all were out for the Lakers. It was announced earlier Friday that James would not play in either of the final two games of the season.
Dwight Howard and Talen Horton-Tucker each had 15 points for the Lakers, who ended a season-long eight-game losing streak and won at home for the first time since March 11. Los Angeles was eliminated from play-in tournament consideration with a loss Tuesday at Golden State.
-Field Level Media
