Devin Booker dazzled with 44 points and Terrence Ross provided a solid 24-point contribution as the Phoenix Suns trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder 132-101 on Wednesday night despite having to cope with the loss of Kevin Durant due to an ankle injury during pre-game warmups.
Phoenix has won four straight games, but that was almost an afterthought following Durant’s injury.
The game was supposed to be the home debut with his new team. A 13-time All-Star, Durant was added in a blockbuster trade deadline deal with Brooklyn and the Footprint Center was buzzing with anticipation.
But he rolled his left ankle while driving to the basket as he prepared to play. The 6-foot-10 forward immediately hopped up and was walking, but several minutes later, the Suns confirmed that he would miss the game.
With Durant out, Suns fans had to settle for a scoring show by Booker, who had 30 points during the first half.
The three-time All-Star shot 17 of 23, making 6 of 10 3-pointers. Ross also was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Chris Paul has 18 points and nine assists. He made 4 of 5 3-pointers.
Oklahoma City played without All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander because of "abdominal strain injury management." Lindy Waters III led the Thunder with 23 points.
Celtics 115, Trail Blazers 93
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and made six 3-pointers and Boston beat Portland to snap a three-game losing streak.
Tatum had his 36th game this season with 30 or more points to help the Celtics avoid their first four-game losing streak.
Derrick White added 21 points and five assists. Al Horford finished with 17 points, six rebounds and assists. The Celtics played without big man Robert Williams for the third straight game as he recovers from a strained left hamstring.
Damian Lillard had 27 points and eight assists for Portland.
Bulls 117, Nuggets 96
Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 15 rebounds, Zach LaVine scored 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting and Chicago beat Denver.
Chicago moved within a game of Washington for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, with 16 games left in the regular season.
Nikola Jokic led Western Conference-leading Denver with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Aaron Gordon had 17 points and nine rebounds.
Cavaliers 104, Heat 100
Darius Garland scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 18 and Cleveland assured itself of a second consecutive winning season with a victory over Miami.
The Cavaliers (42-26) are two wins away from matching last season’s win total, with 14 games left.
Jimmy Butler had 28 points for Miami.
The teams play again in Miami on Friday night.
Pelicans 113, Mavericks 106
CJ McCollum scored 13 of his 32 points in the final four minutes and New Orleans held off Dallas.
Dallas star guard Luka Doncic left in the third because of a strained left thigh after scoring 15 points. The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram left late in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle after scoring 12 points.
Kyrie Irving had 27 points for Dallas.
Clippers 108, Raptors 100
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points, Paul George had 23 and Los Angeles broke away in the second half to beat Toronto.
Leonard also had season-high 12 rebounds against the team he helped lead to the NBA title in 2019. The Clippers have won two straight after a five-game losing streak.
Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes each scored 20 points for Toronto, and O.G. Anunoby had 18 points. The Raptors have dropped two straight for the first time since Feb. 1.
Hawks 122, Wizards 120
De’Andre Hunter’s three-point play with 1:07 remaining put Atlanta ahead to stay, and the Hawks held off Washington despite a career-high 43 points by Kristaps Porzingis.
The teams will finish the two-game set in Washington on Friday night.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 28 points and 10 assists. He shot 11 of 14 from the field.
Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.