NBA: Suns hold off Spurs for 13th straight win

Devin Booker scored 23 points, and Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 14 rebounds, as the visiting Phoenix Suns had just enough in their tank to outlast the San Antonio Spurs 115-111 on Monday to win their 13th consecutive game.

The Suns' streak is their longest since the 2006-07 season when they won a franchise-high 17 straight.

The Suns (14-3), playing the second game of a home-road back-to-back, pulled away from San Antonio early in the second quarter, and led by 13 points at halftime. Phoenix never let the Spurs closer than three points in the second half despite running out of gas in the final minutes.

Dejounte Murray's steal and running layup brought the Spurs to within 114-111 with 15.2 seconds to play but Booker hit a free throw with 9.3 seconds left and Phoenix was able to hold on.

Cameron Payne added 20 points for the Suns, with JaVale McGee scoring 14, Chris Paul 12 and Landry Shamet 11.

Derrick White led the Spurs with 19 points while Murray had a triple double (18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds), Devin Vassell hit for 17 points, Jakob Poeltl had 15 and Lonnie Walker IV 11.

San Antonio (4-12) has lost a season-high five straight games and is off to its worst start since the 1996-97 season, when it finished 20-62.

The Suns used a late first-quarter run to tie the game at 20, then pushed their lead to a dozen after a McGee turnaround jumper at the 8:11 mark of the second period. Phoenix built its lead to as many as 15 points on Jae Crowder's 3-pointer with 3:49 to play in the quarter and took a 57-44 advantage into the break.

Ayton led all scorers with 14 points at halftime. Phoenix outshot the Spurs 50 percent to 43.2 percent and made 7 of their 14 shots from beyond the arc in the first 24 minutes.

Vassell paced the Spurs with 10 off the bench in the first half. San Antonio, which is 29th in the league in free throw percentage (69.4 percent) was just 4-for-11 from the line in the half.

-reuters-

NBA: Suns hold on to take 3-1 series lead over Clippers

Devin Booker scored 25 points before fouling out and Deandre Ayton added 19 points with 22 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns moved one game from their first NBA Finals appearance in 28 years by holding on for an 84-80 victory Saturday over the host Los Angeles Clippers.

Chris Paul, in his second game back from COVID-19 protocol, had 18 points and seven assists as the Suns took a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Paul made five free throws in the final seven seconds to seal the victory.

The Suns now have three chances to earn their spot in the Finals, with their first opportunity coming in Game 5 on Monday at Phoenix.

Paul George had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers, but shot 5 of 20 from the field and 1 of 9 from 3-point range, while Reggie Jackson scored 20 points.

Los Angeles shot just 32.5 percent from the field as it played without Kawhi Leonard for the sixth consecutive playoff game because of a knee injury.

Trailing 50-36 at the half, the Clippers got back in the game by outscoring the Suns 30-19 in the third quarter. Los Angeles then had multiple chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but both teams went through a nearly four-minute scoreless stretch to keep the Suns ahead at 71-70.

Neither team shot well from the field in the fourth quarter, with the Suns shooting 21.1 percent to 15.8 percent for the Clippers. With the Clippers in need of somebody to lean on while playing without Leonard, George was just 1 of 7 from the field in the final period.

Terance Mann got the Clippers within 79-76 on a layup with 58.5 seconds to play, shortly after Booker fouled out after a charge on the offensive end. Two free throws from Paul with 7.0 seconds remaining gave the Suns an 81-78 lead.

After an exchange of free throws, George made one for the Clippers with 3.2 seconds left to get Los Angeles within 82-80. He missed the second intentionally, but the Suns got the rebound and Paul made two foul shots to put the game away.

The Clippers finished just 5 of 31 (16.1 percent) from 3-point range in the game, while the Suns were 4 of 20 (20 percent). Phoenix shot 36 percent overall.

Mikal Bridges had 13 rebounds for the Suns, while Ivica Zubac had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers. Mann had 12 for Los Angeles.

-reuters-

NBA: Deandre Ayton's last-second dunk lifts Suns over Clippers

Deandre Ayton made a go-ahead alley-oop dunk off an inbound pass with 0.7 seconds remaining as the Phoenix Suns earned a 104-103 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Cameron Payne scored a career-high 29 points for the Suns, and Ayton contributed 24 points and 14 rebounds. Devin Booker scored 20 points, playing after getting his nose bloodied late in the third quarter and receiving stitches.

The Suns increased their playoff winning streak to nine games.

Payne stepped up to make 12 of 24 shots from the field and had nine assists with no turnovers. 

He was starting at point guard for the second consecutive game with Chris Paul in health and safety protocol after he reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Paul George scored 26 points and Reggie Jackson added 19 for the Clippers, who fell behind 2-0 in their third consecutive series. 

They rallied to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and came back against the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the conference semifinals.

George missed a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining that gave the Suns a chance to win the game.

The Clippers were playing their fourth consecutive playoff game without forward Kawhi Leonard, who is out due to a sprained right knee.

Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Los Angeles, where the Clippers have won their past four after losing their first three home contests to Dallas.

The teams traded the lead multiple times in the final minute. The Clippers took a 101-100 advantage with 30.9 seconds remaining on a layup by George that came after Ivica Zubac blocked Payne's layup attempt. Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

Booker put the Suns back in front 102-101 on a contested jump shot from the elbow of the key with 27 seconds remaining, but George answered with an 18-foot jump shot for a 103-102 lead with 22.2 seconds left.

After Patrick Beverley forced Booker into a turnover with 9.3 seconds remaining, George could have given the Clippers a three-point advantage, but he missed two free throws. He was 5 of 10 from the line in the game.

Mikal Bridges missed a 3-point attempt with 3.3 seconds remaining that would have given the Suns the lead, but the Clippers tipped the ball out of bounds with under a second left. 

Jae Crowder then lobbed the inbound pass toward the rim, with Ayton slamming down the game-winning basket.

Los Angeles could not get off another shot before the final horn sounded.

-reuters-

Seeking new heights, Suns draft Ayton No. 1 overall

The NBA's lightweights got the message Thursday: If you're going to compete with the heavyweights, you've got to get bigger.

The Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings made 7-foot Deandre Ayton of Arizona and 6-11 Marvin Bagley III of Duke the tallest tandem of 1-2 picks since 2006 when they began a run on big men at the top of the 2018 NBA Draft.

Ayton, the No. 1 overall selection, brings a sturdy, 260-pound frame to the middle of a Suns defense that ranked last in the NBA in points allowed en route to the NBA's worst record during the 2017-18 season. The 19-year-old ranked among the national leaders in rebounds (11.6 per game) and blocks (1.9 per game) last season as a one-and-done freshman.

A native of the Bahamas, Ayton will begin his pro career right around the block from where he attended Hillcrest Prep Academy before heading 100 miles down the road to Tucson, where he led the Arizona Wildcats to a 27-win season and as high as a No. 2 national ranking.

"The fans out there are amazing, the best fans in the world," Ayton said shortly after the announcement of the selection in New York. "I'm really happy to be a Phoenix Sun and start a winning legacy with Devin Booker and Josh Jackson and all the other guys. We're a young team and we're ready."

Bagley, meanwhile, adds a versatile frontcourt presence to a Kings team that scored the fewest points in the NBA last season.

Despite not turning 19 until the day before the start of the NCAA Tournament and having had his numbers limited by Duke's balanced approach, Bagley managed to average 21.0 points per game on 61.4 percent shooting.

The run on big men stalled temporarily when the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks agreed to swap picks, with Dallas getting 6-foot-8 international star Luka Doncic at No. 3 in exchange for high-scoring Oklahoma point guard Trae Young, selected fifth, and the Mavericks' 2019 first-round pick.

Sandwiching the selection of Young, Memphis and Orlando got back in the big-man game, with the Grizzlies snatching up Michigan State's 6-11 Jaren Jackson Jr. at No. 4 before the Magic completed the top six by selecting Texas' 7-foot Mo Bamba.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com