NBA: Murray, Jokic lead Nuggets to sweep of Suns

Jamal Murray scored 36 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 points, and the Denver Nuggets completed a season sweep of the Phoenix Suns, 117-108, Saturday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Denver came into Saturday's matchup off two days rest, last playing Wednesday in a win at Utah. However, Phoenix -- playing the second leg of a back-to-back -- surged ahead in the first quarter.

The Suns were coming off a blowout Friday night of the Houston Rockets, in which Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 39 points. He followed up with 20 points against Denver, and cooled off significantly from 3-point range.

Oubre shot 3-of-11 from beyond the arc after going 7-of-9 on Friday.

The back-to-back, coupled with the starters playing extended minutes, seemingly wore on Phoenix. Both Oubre and Deandre Ayton -- who finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds -- logged 42 minutes. Devin Booker, who scored 21 points but shot just 5-of-16 from the floor, played 37 minutes.

In contrast, no Nugget played more than Gary Harris' 36 minutes.

The Suns came into Saturday's contest with a bevy of injuries, including Dario Saric, Aron Baynes and Ty Jerome. Their situation was not unlike that of the Nuggets on Wednesday, when coach Mike Malone used just seven players.

Depth was not as dire for Denver on Saturday, with Paul Millsap back in the rotation. He registered a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Denver also got significant minutes from Monte Morris, who scored 11 points and dished five assists. Murray was the driving force for the Nuggets offensively, though.

He shot a blistering 14-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Murray added five rebounds and five assists, as well.

Jokic, who registered just the third 30/20/10 triple-double since the NBA-ABA merger in Wednesday's win, grabbed nine rebounds and doled out six assists Saturday.

With the win, Denver finishes the 2019-20 season a perfect 4-0 against the Suns. The Nuggets are winners of seven of their last nine, with two more to play ahead of next week's All-Star break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Harden scores 47 as Rockets soar past Suns

James Harden drained nine 3-pointers while recording 47 points, six rebounds and seven assists to lead the Houston Rockets to a 139-125 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.

Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 10 assists as Houston defeated Phoenix for the 13th consecutive time. Clint Capela registered 14 points and 17 rebounds and Danuel House Jr. added 11 points for the Rockets.


Houston shot a blistering 58.6 percent from the field, including 19 of 41 from 3-point range. Harden hit 15 of 27 shots and was 9 of 19 from behind the arc.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 26 points for the Suns, who lost their sixth straight game and 14th in their past 18. Devin Booker added 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Elie Okobo tallied 17 points and Ty Jerome added 15 points.

Center Deandre Ayton (ankle) and point guard Ricky Rubio (illness) sat out for the Suns.

Harden had an opportunity for his 24th career 50-point outing but was pulled with 1:39 remaining.

Phoenix shot 51.6 percent from the field and was 8 of 28 from behind the arc. Aron Baynes scored 13 points while Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky added 10 points apiece for the Suns, who had seven double-digit scorers.

Houston led by five at halftime and opened the lead to 87-75 on Westbrook's basket with 6:58 left in the third quarter.

Gary Clark buried a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left as the Rockets carried a 106-95 advantage into the final quarter.

The Suns trailed, 115-107, after Booker's three-point play with 9:37 left but Westbrook drained a jumper and House and Harden buried 3-pointers to push the margin to 16 with seven minutes remaining.

Harden drained a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play for Houston's next seven points to boost the advantage to 130-112 with 5:28 left.

Another Harden 3-pointer pushed the lead to 20 at 136-116 with 3:58 remaining and Houston cruised to the finish.

Harden scored 29 first-half points on 10-of-15 shooting as the Rockets held a 70-65 lead into the break.

He scored 18 on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter but Houston led by just 36-35. The Rockets built a 14-point advantage during the second stanza before Phoenix trimmed it to 60-59 on a basket by Baynes with 2:37 remaining.

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NBA: Booker nets 26 as Suns dump slumping Timberwolves

Devin Booker had 26 points and three 3-pointers and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 24 points on his 24th birthday when the host Phoenix Suns pulled away from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 125-109 victory Monday night.

Dario Saric had 20 points and was a rebound short of his fifth double-double in the last eight games and Ricky Rubio had 16 points and 14 assists for the Suns, who beat Timberwolves for the second time in 17 days to get within one game of .500.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 15 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins had 23 points and Jeff Teague had 16 points and four assists off the bench for the Timberwolves, who extended a season-long losing streak to five.

The teams yoyo-ed through 15 lead changes and 16 ties through the first 27 minutes before the Suns opened some space when Booker made back-to-back 3-pointers for a 73-68 lead. The Suns gradually pulled away, stretching their lead to as many as 19. Minnesota was never closer than seven in the final nine minutes after Cam Johnson's trey made it 100-90.

Suns center Aron Baynes, who had missed the previous four games and nine of the last 10 with injuries, had 12 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes. His 3-pointer late in the third quarter made it 92-81, the Suns' largest lead to that point.

The Suns made 16-of-40 3-pointers, their eighth game with at least 15 makes this season. Oubre, Saric, Rubio, Johnson, Baynes and Frank Kaminsky had two 3-pointers apiece.

Rubio has at least 13 assists in his last three games and at least nine assists in six straight games, the longest streak by a Suns player since Goran Dragic in March 2013. The Suns have 29 or more assists in their last seven, their longest stretch since 2007.

Minnesota lost all four games on the trip that ended in Phoenix, by a total of 52 points. They gave up 121, 137 and 142 points in the first three losses.

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NBA: Warriors rally to hand Suns 13th consecutive loss

Stephen Curry saved 10 of his 20 points for a fourth-quarter rally that enabled the Golden State Warriors to overtake host Phoenix Suns 117-107 Friday night for their 11th consecutive road win.

Phoenix lost its 13th straight despite leading by as many as 17 points in the first quarter and 94-88 after a hoop by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 8:35 left in the game.

The Warriors scored the next 13 points, with DeMarcus Cousins contributing two dunks to a flurry that produced a 101-94 lead with 5:46 to go.

The Suns got as close as 101-98 on a Richaun Holmes tip-in with 4:58 to play, but Curry countered with a 3-pointer, and Phoenix never got closer than four again.

After shooting just 2-for-10 in the first three quarters, Curry finished 6-for-17.

The Warriors won for the 14th time in their past 15 games despite losing Draymond Green at the start of the fourth period after he drew his second technical foul.

Green finished with 13 points in 25 minutes.

Klay Thompson led Golden State with 25 points, almost half of them coming on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant added 21 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, while Cousins finished with 18 points.

Curry also found time for a team-high seven assists for Golden State, which shot 50.6 percent from the floor.

Oubre (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Deandre Ayton (23 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Phoenix, which lost its fifth straight home game.

Mikal Bridges (19 points), Josh Jackson (19) and Holmes (10) also scored in double figures for the Suns, who shot 38.6 percent on field-goal attempts.

The Suns stunned the two-time defending champs with a 26-9, game-opening flurry that featured three dunks by Ayton.

The Warriors clawed back to go ahead 41-39 on a Thompson 3-pointer with 6:33 left in the second quarter. Golden State went on to lead 60-53 by half's end.

The Suns did the rallying in the third quarter, drawing even at 64-all on a free throw by Ayton with 7:49 left in the period.

Phoenix led 85-82 after the third, then began the fourth quarter with a Bridges free throw after Green drew his game-ending second technical between periods.

Green also got whistled for a technical in the first quarter.

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Clippers win in OT as Suns drop 9th straight

Tobias Harris had 33 points and eight rebounds, and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers ended a two-game losing streak with a 123-119 win over Phoenix Suns on Monday.

Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 for the Clippers.

Deandre Ayton contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Richaun Holmes (19), Mikal Bridges (19) and Josh Jackson (18) all scored their season highs for the Suns, who have lost nine straight.

Phoenix never led in overtime. Troy Daniels tied the game 119-119 with 51.3 seconds left on a reverse layup, but Patrick Beverley made two free throws with 33.3 seconds left and Avery Bradley sank two more with 1.6 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Phoenix's De'Anthony Melton made a step-back 9-footer from the baseline to tie the score at 111-111 with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Gallinari then missed a long, heavily contested try at the buzzer.

The Clippers took an 88-86 lead into the fourth quarter, the same two-point advantage they brought into halftime. 

However, the Suns bridged an 11-3 run from the third quarter and into the fourth to take a 95-91 lead with 9:26 left, their biggest margin since early in the second quarter.

Phoenix went up 104-95 on a basket by Holmes with 7:09 remaining, but that would be the last field goal until Bridges made a 3-pointer with 1:16 left to end a 12-0 run by Los Angeles and pull the Suns within 109-108.

The only time the Suns led in the third quarter was when Holmes made two free throws with 1:07 lead for an 84-83 advantage, but Milos Teodosic sank an 18-foot jumper on the other end to put the Clippers back ahead.

The Clippers didn't hold a lead until Beverley scored with 7:59 left in the first half for a 37-35 advantage.

Suns leading scorer Devin Booker (23.5 points per game) missed his fourth consecutive game due to a hamstring injury. Second-leading scorer T.J. Warren (17.7 ppg) returned under restricted minutes after missing the previous five games with an ankle injury. He scored six points in 12 minutes.

Lou Williams, the third-leading scorer for the Clippers (17.6 ppg), left midway through the second quarter with a sore left hamstring and did not return. He scored seven points in 12 minutes off the bench.

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NBA: Irving leads Celtics in OT rally past Suns

Kyrie Irving recorded a season-high 39 points and also had seven rebounds and six assists to help the Boston Celtics rally to a 116-109 overtime victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Marcus Morris added 17 points and drained the tying 3-point basket in regulation as Boston recovered from a 22-point third-quarter deficit. Jaylen Brown connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime to cap a 17-point effort and Terry Rozier added 10 points.

Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points and added nine assists and TJ Warren scored a season-high 29 points for Phoenix, which has dropped nine of its 11 games this season. Deandre Ayton contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Celtics recovered from a poor-shooting first half to finish at 40.2 percent, including 14-of-37 from 3-point range. The Suns shot 44.1 percent and were 11-of-35 from 3-point range.

Boston trailed by 19 points after the opening quarter and by 25 after the third period but rallied with a 20-6 run at the end of regulation to force overtime.

Brown's 3-pointer gave Boston a 112-109 lead with 2:05 left in overtime and Morris added a layup 26 seconds later. Jayson Tatum added two free throws with nine seconds left to close it out.

The Celtics trailed by 14 with 3:45 remaining in regulation before Irving (five) and Brown (four) scored all the points during a 9-0 surge to cut the Suns' lead to 94-89 with 2:05 remaining.

Boston kept on the pressure and moved within 98-95 on Irving's 3-pointer with 35.9 seconds left and Brown's basket with 7.3 seconds left moved the Celtics within one. Warren connected on two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining to give Phoenix a 100-97 edge.

Morris drained a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to knot the score. It was Boston's six trey of the quarter.

Warren scored 19 first-half points as Phoenix led 55-35 at the break.

The Celtics shot a meager 21.7 percent from the field in the half - 10-for-46 -- and committed 10 turnovers.

Irving was the only Boston starter to score in the first half and he was just 3-of-10 shooting while scoring 13 points. The other four starters -- Brown, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Tatum -- missed all 15 of their shots.

Irving opened the contest with a 3-pointer before the Suns scored the next 15 points.

Booker's 17-footer with 0.5 seconds left gave the Suns a 32-13 edge in a stanza in which the Celtics went 4-of-22 from the field.

Phoenix stretched its lead to 48-26 on Booker's 3-pointer with 4:31 to play in the half.

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NBA: LeVert stays hot as Nets beat Suns

Caris LeVert continued his torrid start by scoring 26 points and the Brooklyn Nets opened a four-game road trip with a 104-82 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

The Nets won consecutive games for the first time this season by countering a sluggish shooting performance with effective defense. Brooklyn shot 44.6 percent but allowed a season-low 34.6 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers two nights after forcing a league-high 27 in Sunday's rout of Philadelphia.

LeVert reached 20-plus points for the seventh time by shooting 10 of 16. He helped the Nets clinch the win with a nifty up and under layup move on rookie big man Deandre Ayton that opened a 90-74 lead with 5:44 remaining.

LeVert became the first Net to score at least 20 points in seven of the first 11 games since Brook Lopez in 2012-13.

D'Angelo Russell added 15 points while Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 12 as the Nets recorded their third double-digit win of the season. Joe Harris added 11 while Jarrett Allen chipped in 10 as the Nets piled up 54 points in the paint.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points but shot 6 of 21 from the floor. Ayton added 15 points and 13 rebounds but shot 6 of 17 as Phoenix turned in its worst shooting performance of the season and shot under 40 percent for the third time.

The Nets led by as many as 14 before settling for a 52-42 halftime lead as the Suns briefly cut the lead under double digits by getting consecutive 3-pointers from rookie Mikal Bridges and Ariza in the final minute.

Five straight points by Ayton and a 3-pointer by Ariza put Phoenix within 63-58 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the third. Brooklyn pulled ahead with an 11-2 run over the next two minutes and held a 76-66 lead into the fourth before LeVert helped finish it off.

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NBA: Raptors move to 8-1 after eclipsing Suns

Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and added five assists as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Phoenix Suns 107-98 Friday night.

Kyle Lowry added 11 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for the Raptors, who have won eight of their first nine games this season. The Suns have lost seven in a row after winning their season opener.

It was the seventh consecutive game in which Lowry has had 10 or more assists, matching a team record. It was his sixth double-double of the season.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Toronto while Serge Ibaka added 14 points and Pascal Siakam had 10.

Leonard left the game and went to the dressing room with 2:42 to play with what was described as a jammed foot.

Isaiah Canaan had 19 points for the Suns, while Deandre Ayton had 17 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. Devin Booker added 18 points, Josh Jackson 11 while Trevor Ariza and T.J. Warren had 10 apiece.

The Raptors took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter that increased to 16 with 8:30 to play when Norman Powell hit a 3-pointer to complete an 8-0 surge.

Canaan's 3-pointer trimmed Toronto's lead to 13 with 4:31 left.

After the Suns led 26-23 after the first quarter, Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer with 5:39 to play in the second quarter gave the Suns a seven-point lead. The Suns regained a three-point lead on a 3-pointer by Ariza with 44.1 seconds left and Phoenix led 52-48 at halftime.

Ayton had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix in the first half and Canaan had 12 points. Leonard led the Raptors with 12 points in the first half.

Toronto took a seven-point lead on a 3-pointer by Danny Green with 9:45 to go in the third quarter, capping a 10-0 run.

The Suns responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 61 with 7:53 on Booker's 18-foot jumper.

The Raptors reeled off an 8-0 surge to take a 69-61 lead with 3:26 to play in the third on OG Anunoby's dunk.

Fred VanVleet's 3-pointer bumped the lead to 10 with 2:04 left in the third.

Jackson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Toronto's lead to 77-71 after three quarters.

Booker was back with the Suns after missing three games. Meanwhile, VanVleet returned to the Toronto lineup after missing four games and Anunoby returned after missing three games.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LeBron's a winner for Lakers in blowout of Suns

LeBron James won his first game as a member of the Lakers, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a 131-113 victory against the host Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

Lance Stephenson had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists off the bench, and JaVale McGee led five starters in double figures with 20 points.

Kyle Kuzma scored 17 points and Josh Hart made his first start of the season for Los Angeles and scored 15.

Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 23 points before leaving with a strained left hamstring late in the third quarter. Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

James had 10 points and five assists in the second quarter to help the Lakers outscore the Suns 44-24 and take a 76-54 lead into the half.

Los Angeles took its first double-digit lead on a basket by Stephenson with 9:30 left in the first half, and Hart's steal and layup made it 63-43 with 3:51 remaining.

James drove to the basket in the final seconds, grabbed his own rebound off the glass and put it in with 2.4 seconds left on the clock, giving Los Angeles its biggest lead heading into the break.

Phoenix could only get as close as 17 points in the third quarter before the Lakers took a 106-86 lead into the fourth, when James sat out.

Los Angeles finished with 34 assists and eight turnovers while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

The Lakers were without starting small forward Brandon Ingram and starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who were serving the second game of suspensions for their roles in a fight on Saturday night against the visiting Houston Rockets. Ingram was suspended four games and Rondo for three.

Booker, who became the second Phoenix player to score at least 25 points in the first three games of a season, made his first three shots to help the Suns to an early 8-2 lead, but the Lakers eventually took a 32-30 advantage heading into the second quarter.

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Tatum shines as Celtics blow past Suns

Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Marcus Morris had 20 against his former team before leaving with an injury as the Boston Celtics held off the host Phoenix Suns 102-94 on Monday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Al Horford added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who picked up their fourth straight win and moved within three games of Eastern Conference-leading Toronto.

"Second night of a back-to-back, we needed a lot of energy to start with, and I felt like we did that as a group," Horford told NBC Sports Boston after the game.

Josh Jackson had 23 points, Tyler Ulis had 19 points and eight assists and Troy Daniels scored 18 as Phoenix took its 12th straight defeat and lost for the 22nd time in 23 games.

The Suns have the NBA's worst record, 1 1/2 games below the Grizzlies after Memphis' win in Minnesota on Monday.

Morris sustained a right ankle injury in the second half and did not return, adding to a lengthy list of injuries for the Celtics. Boston was already playing without star guard Kyrie Irving, who is recovering from a recent left knee procedure.

X-rays on Morris' ankle came back negative, the team announced.

With his game-high point total, Tatum became the ninth rookie in Celtics' franchise history to notch 1,000 points in his debut season.

After putting up a career-high 33 points with five rebounds, five steals and three assists Sunday in a win at Sacramento, Boston's Terry Rozier finished with 16 points, seven boards and three assists Monday.

A 31-point first quarter sent the Celtics out to a 16-point lead before Phoenix found a groove and outscored the visitors 30-17 in the second to pull within 48-45 at halftime.

Boston padded its lead with a 29-point third quarter to make it 77-65 going into the fourth.

Phoenix hung around in the final period and got within single digits on Ulis' 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining.

The Celtics led by as many as 20 while the Suns' biggest lead was three.

Boston completes its four-game road trip Wednesday in Utah. Phoenix concludes a quick two-game homestand Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spurs spank Suns in epic blowout

San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Patty Mills added 18 points off the bench as the visiting Spurs blew out the Phoenix Suns 129-81 on Wednesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Danny Green had 17 points, and he and Mills hit five 3-pointers apiece for the Spurs, who broke a two-game losing streak. Mills played 17 minutes.

Green made three of his 3-pointers as the Spurs opened a 25-5 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, the first of their six-game "rodeo trip" taken annually when the San Antonio stock show and rodeo occupies the AT&T Center.

Alex Len had 14 points, Josh Jackson had 13 and Dragan Bender had 12 for the Suns, who tied the worst margin of defeat in franchise history. Phoenix played without leading scorer Devin Booker (hip) for the second consecutive game.

Dejounte Murray had 14 points and three assists for the Spurs before leaving with a sprained ankle midway through second quarter, and Tony Parker had 13 points as the Spurs completed a sweep of the four-game season series.

Aldridge made 10 of 14 field-goal attempts and Green and Mills were each 6 of 9 against a Suns lineup that also was missing 7-footer Tyson Chandler, who sat out because of a neck injury.

The Spurs had a 62-44 rebounding edge and limited Phoenix to 34 percent shooting from the field. The Suns made 3 of 32 3-point attempts, two of their first 25.

San Antonio had its first full practice in almost two months Monday after the Utah Jazz shot 56.7 percent in a 120-111 victory over the Spurs on Saturday. The Spurs shot 49.5 percent from the floor against Phoenix, including 50 percent (16 of 32) from beyond the 3-point arc.

Aldridge had seven points when the Spurs finished the first half on a 13-0 run for a 69-31 halftime lead.

Mills' 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter gave the Spurs a 97-50 lead, and his trey in the first minute of the fourth quarter made it 100-50.

The Suns lost by franchise-record 48 points in their season opener to the Portland Trail Blazers 124-76 on Oct. 18. Coach Earl Watson was fired four days later, after a 130-88 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Suns started their 20th different lineup, with Marquese Chriss opening at center, Bender at power forward and Tyler Ulis at point guard. Ulis left with back spasms in the second quarter and did not return.

San Antonio's Davis Bertans made his second straight start in place of Pau Gasol, who had 11 rebounds off the bench. Bertans finished with nine points and six boards.

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NBA: Pacers kick off 5-game trip with rout of Suns

Indiana guard Darren Collison scored 19 points to lead seven Pacers in double figures in a 120-97 rout of the Phoenix Suns at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Sunday.

Victor Oladipo had 17 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for the Pacers (23-20), who overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Cleveland on Friday but were never in danger against the slumping Suns.

Reserve guard Cory Joseph scored 16 points and center Domantas Sabonis had 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who led by 33 points late in the third period and turned to the bench the rest of the way.

Collison played 27 minutes and forward Thaddeus Young played 25, the only starters to play as much as the half the game in the first of the Pacers' five-game road trip that includes two sets of back-to-back games, including one Monday in Utah.

Forward Josh Jackson lead the Suns (16-28) with 21 points in his first game back after missing two with a hip injury. The Suns have lost four of five.

Devin Booker, who averages 24.4 points per game, had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Reserves Troy Daniels and Isaiah Canaan had 13 points apiece and Alex Len had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

   
Indiana committed only six turnovers and shot 54.5 percent from the floor while making 11-of-23 3-pointers. Oladipo, Young, Bogdanovic and Joseph made two apiece.

The Suns did not lead after the first three minutes, and reserve forward T.J. Leaf's dunk with 8:20 remaining in the first half enabled the Pacers to double the Suns, 42-21.

Indiana led by 20 at halftime, and Leaf's 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter gave the Pacers a 33-point lead, 92-59.

The Suns shot 41.2 percent from the floor and made 9-of-37 3-point attempts.

Suns forward Dragan Bender, who had 34 points and made 9-of-14 3-point attempts in the past two games, did not score in 30 minutes. He was 0-for-7 from the field, 0-for-6 on threes. He started for the second straight game in place of injured Marquese Chriss.

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Morris-Goodwin scuffle makes defeat worse for Suns

The Phoenix Suns' season took another fractious turn on Wednesday when team mates Markieff Morris and Archie Goodwin got into a shoving match during the team's loss to the Golden State Warriors.

A heated conversation turned physical between the two players during a first-quarter timeout as Morris stood over a seated Goodwin who then leapt up from the bench.

The huddled Phoenix bench quickly broke up the dust-up, but they could do little to halt their freefall.


The Suns (14-40) lost to the Warriors 112-104 for their ninth straight defeat as they sank further down the Western Conference.

Phoenix fired coach Jeff Hornacek last week and promoted assistant Earl Watson to interim head coach.

Wednesday's incident is not the first internal conflict for Morris who was suspended two games in December for throwing a towel at Hornacek.

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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Business as usual as mighty Warriors improve to 17-0

The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors are rolling like a well-oiled machine, extending their record setting start with a 135-116 rout of the Phoenix Suns.

In what is becoming the status quo for the mighty Warriors, guard Stephen Curry scored 41 points and made nine three-pointers as they stretched their unbeaten streak to start the season to an NBA-record 17 games.

The Warriors had a season-high in points and made a season-high 22 three-pointers and shot 56.8 percent from the field, 57.9 on three-point attempts.

Curry said they are attracting new fans where ever they go.

"It was packed in our section," Curry said. "Dub Nation is growing by the day. It's fun to see on the road. Even some 'Let's go Warrior' chants during the game. And we played well to back it up."


Reserve guard Leandro Barbosa had 21 points and made all five of his three-point attempts for Golden State, who set the NBA record for consecutive wins at the start of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Reigning league MVP Curry drained a season-high nine three-pointers and added eight assists and six rebounds at Talking Stick Resort Arena. He made nine-of-16 three-point attempts.

"A lot of that is based on our ball movement," Curry said. "We shoot a lot of threes, but we like to shoot a lot of good ones. Ball movement leads to in-rhythm shots. I knew we made a lot."

Said Phoenix forward Markieff Morris, "They shoot threes like layups."

Forward Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season, and guard Klay Thompson had 15 points for the Warriors in the win.

Reserve forward T.J. Warren had a career-high 28 points for the Suns, who lost their fourth straight and fifth in their last six.

Guard Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and seven assists and Brandon Knight had 21 points and five assists in the loss.

Warriors forward Harrison Barnes left the game with a sprained left ankle with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter and did not return. Barnes finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

In Denver, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and Tony Parker added 13 as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 91-80 to win their fourth game in a row.

The Spurs were without forward Tim Duncan and guard Manu Ginobili who stayed home to rest.

Leonard became the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon on December 12, 1992, to record 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and four steals in a NBA game.
Denver led by as many as 11 in a first half.

Elsewhere, guard Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their hot start on the road with a 101-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com