PHOENIX — Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Devin Booker added 27 and Phoenix won its fourth straight game by beating short-handed Denver on Saturday (PH time), April 1, 2023.
The Suns are 5-0 with Durant in the lineup. Phoenix traded for the 13-time All-Star in a deadline deal in February.
The Nuggets rested a big chunk of their starting lineup, including reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, guards Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and forward Michael Porter Jr. But they still showed fight after trailing 60-40 at halftime.
Aaron Gordon had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Nuggets. Bruce Brown scored 16 points and Reggie Jackson had 13.
“I like how we played in the first half, but it was a bad second half for us,” Durant said. “We just let our foot off the gas a little and they were playing extremely hard. We’ve just got to do a better job of sticking with it.”
76ERS 117, RAPTORS 110
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 12 rebounds, James Harden had 23 points and 11 assists and Philadelphia topped Toronto.
The Sixers made 30 of 39 shots in the first half and raced to a 24-point lead that nearly evaporated. Fred VanVleet, who scored 16 points, buried a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter that pulled the Raptors to 103-101 and silenced the sellout crowd.
Embiid, though, steadied the 76ers with a jumper and PJ Tucker buried a 3 that gave them some breathing room. Harden drove to the hoop for a bucket and a 110-101 edge that forced the Raptors to call timeout.
The Raptors didn’t have another run in them. Scottie Barnes scored 29 points and OG Anunoby had 19.
GRIZZLIES 108, CLIPPERS 94
Desmond Bane scored 22 points, Luke Kennard had 17 and Memphis overcame a 20-point first-half deficit and beat Los Angeles.
Kennard keyed a second-quarter rally with four 3-pointers and finished with five against his former team. Kennard was traded to Memphis on Feb. 9 as part of a three-team deal. The Grizzlies eventually built a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter following Bane’s steal under the Clippers’ basket and a driving layup.
Ja Morant struggled in the first half and had only 3 points at the break for Memphis. He finished with 10 points in 26 minutes.
Norman Powell scored 16 points to lead the Clippers, Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Eric Gordon finished with 13 points.
WARRIORS 130, SPURS 115
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole combined for 20 3-pointers with Curry scoring 33 points, Thompson 31 and Poole 27 to send Golden State past San Antonio.
Poole’s first of six 3s gave Golden State three players with 200 or more 3-pointers this season — only the second team to do so. Just one other 3 was made by the rest of Golden State’s players all night. Curry shot 11 for 21 and 7 of 11 from deep, and Thompson also hit seven 3s as the defending champions stayed put in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points off the bench, Branham had 19 points and seven rebounds and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 13 points and 11 rebounds in San Antonio’s sixth straight loss overall and sixth in a row on the road. (AP)