Suns extend winning streak to 16, beating Nets 113-107

NEW YORK — Devin Booker scored 30 points, Chris Paul had 22 and the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 16 games with a 113-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

Playing for the second straight night to end a four-game trip, Phoenix never trailed and led by as much as 22 while moving within a victory of matching the longest winning streak in franchise history.

The Suns will try to do that Tuesday night at home against the Golden State Warriors (17-2) in a matchup of the top two teams in the NBA.

Phoenix improved to 17-3, its best record through 20 games since having the same mark in 2004-05. The Western Conference champions haven’t lost in a month since Sacramento dropped them to 1-3.

Paul added eight rebounds and five assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 assists and 5,000 rebounds.

Mikal Bridges had 13 points and a career-high seven steals for the Suns. They won 17 straight games during the 2006-07 season, and also won 15 in a row earlier that season.

Kevin Durant had 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Nets. They had their four-game winning streak snapped.

James Harden carved out a sloppy triple-double in the Nets’ first game since Thanksgiving, with 14 assists, 13 rebounds and 12 points. But he shot 4 for 15 from the field, missing all six 3-pointers and committed seven turnovers.

TIMBERWOLVES 121, 76ERS 120, 2OT

PHILADELPHIA — D’Angelo Russell scored 35 points and had a decisive steal and assist in the final seconds of the second overtime in Minnesota’s victory over Joel Embiid and Philadelphia.

Embiid had 42 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the lineup after missing nine games because of COVID-19 protocols. Philadelphia lost seven of those games without the four-time All-Star and has now dropped eight of 10.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, but didn’t play in the extra sessions after fouling out. Minnesota has won six of seven.

KNICKS 99, HAWKS 90

ATLANTA — Alec Burks scored 23 points, Evan Fournier added 20 and New York snapped Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak.

Burks, starting with Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose nursing injuries, hit three of his four 3s and scored 15 points in the third quarter.

Trae Young had 33 points for Atlanta. Clint Capela had 16 points and 21 rebounds.

ROCKETS 146, HORNETS 143, OT

HOUSTON — Christian Wood scored a career-high 33 points and had 16 rebounds to help Houston beat Charlotte.

The Rockets have won two straight after losing 15 in a row.

Charlotte’s P.J. Washington forced overtime with a putback dunk off a missed 3 from LaMelo Ball, tying it at 135 with 4.4 seconds remaining.

Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 31 points.

HEAT 107, BULLS 104

CHICAGO — Kyle Lowry scored 19 points and Jimmy Butler added 18 to help Miami beat Chicago.

Gabe Vincent made four three-pointers and had 20 off the bench, and Bam Adebayo added nine points, six assists, and seven rebounds.

The Heat won without Tyler Herro. Averaging 22.2 points over the past 10 games, he sat out because of illness.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 28 points.

CAVALIERS 105, MAGIC 92

CLEVELAND — Darius Garland scored a season-high 26 points, rookie Evan Mobley had 13 points in his return from a sprained right elbow and Cleveland beat Orlando.

Mobley missed four games after getting entangled with Boston’s Enes Kanter on Nov. 15. He had nine rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots, helping Cleveland end its longest losing streak of the season at five.

Wendell Carter Jr. led Orlando with 19 points and 11 rebounds before being ejected with 2:09 left.

JAZZ 127, PELICANS 105

SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan Mitchell had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to help Utah beat New Orleans.

A night after falling 98-97 to the Pelicans, Utah never trailed after the opening minute and shot 56% percent from the floor overall. The Jazz made a season-high 20 3-pointers, shooting 57% from 3-point range.

Jaxson Hayes had 15 points for the Pelicans.

WIZARDS 120, MAVERICKS 114

DALLAS — Bradley Beal scored 26 points, Kyle Kuzma had 10 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored the clinching four points in the closing seconds in Washington’s victory over Dallas.

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks.