PHOENIX — Devin Booker scored 33 points, Chris Paul had 15 of his a season-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 115-109 win over the short-handed Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Paul just missed a triple-double with 14 assists and nine rebounds. The Suns improved their NBA-best record to 37-9, matching the 2006-07 team for the best start in franchise history.
The gritty Jazz trailed by 13 in the first half but jumped ahead 87-85 by the end of the third quarter. Utah pushed its lead to 95-91 early in the fourth but the Suns responded with a 14-2 run to take control.
Paul was the main catalyst for Phoenix’s final push, dominating the quarter when Booker cooled off following a hot start. The 36-year-old point guard made his first five shots of the period, including two 3-pointers.
Utah was missing All-Stars Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. The Jazz lost for the eight times in 11 games.
Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 22 points, including three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that made things interesting into the final minute.
The Suns scored the first seven points and took a 31-21 lead into the second quarter. Booker scored 17 points in the first, making 8 of 13 shots with four rebounds and two assists.
The Jazz rallied in the second quarter and cut the advantage to 58-56 by halftime. Booker led the Suns with 19 points before the break while Trent Forrest — who came into Monday averaging 1.9 points per game — led the Jazz with 11.
TOP 100
Utah’s Rudy Gay became one of the top 100 scorers in NBA/ABA history with a free throw in the fourth quarter.
The 35-year-old has 17,193 career points, passing Chris Webber for the No. 100 spot. He has more career points than Joe Dumars, James Worthy, Grant Hill, Bob Cousy or Jerry Stackhouse.
Gay has never made an All-Star team. He was the eighth pick in the 2006 draft and has averaged 16.5 points per game in his career, including more than 20 in three seasons.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Utah’s makeshift starting lineup included Danuel House Jr., Gay, Hassan Whiteside, Clarkson and Forrest. … Forrest finished with a career-high 17 points. … Clarkson has 1,001 career 3-pointers.
Suns: F Cam Johnson started in place of Crowder. He poured in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. … The Suns hosted a sellout crowd for a ninth straight game.
UP NEXT
The teams play again at Utah on Wednesday.
CAVALIERS 95, KNICKS 93
CLEVELAND — Kevin Love scored 20 points — nine straight in a 3-point barrage in just over a minute — and Darius Garland had 12 assists as Cleveland survived a late rally by New York.
Down by 15 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks made it close, but Julius Randle’s 38-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer was way short.
Garland hit a late 3-pointer, rookie Evan Mobley had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Isaac Okoro scored 14 points for the Cavs, who have won seven of eight.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Randle 18 for the Knicks.
BULLS 111, THUNDER 110
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nicola Vucevic had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Chicago withstood a fierce rally by Oklahoma City.
The Bulls led by 28 points in the third quarter, but the Thunder had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a 3-pointer that would have evened the score with 2.3 seconds to play.
Rookie Ayo Dosunmu scored a season-high 24 points and Zach LaVine added 23 for the Bulls.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and 10 assists and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder.
PELICANS 117, PACERS 113
NEW ORLEANS — Devonte Graham scored 25 points, Josh Hart had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and New Orleans beat Indiana.
Graham went 5 of 9 from 3-point range on a night when the rest of his team missed 20 of 21 from deep. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.
Indiana rookie Duane Washington Jr. hit a career-best seven shots (on 12 attempts) from deep for a career-high 21 points.
Caris LeVert scored 19 and Chris Duarte 14 for the Pacers.