CLEVELAND.- Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul dished out 12 assists and made four free throws in the final 8.8 seconds to help the Phoenix Suns extend their winning streak to 14 games with a 120-115 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Phoenix’s streak began with a victory over Cleveland on Oct. 30, after the defending champions of the Western Conference entered the season 1-3. The Suns have been perfect ever since and have the best road record in the NBA at 7-1.
It was not easy.
The young Cavaliers forced the Suns to get the best of their repertoire and if it weren’t for Paul, a pair of refereeing decisions that could favor any team and that Ricky Rubio missed three free throws in the last credits, the streak could reach a its end.
The win was the 100th with the Suns for coach Monty Williams, who is in his third season with the team.
Jarrett Allen finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Cedi Osman added 23 for Cleveland, which suffered its fifth straight loss. Darius Garland chipped in 19 points before going off for excess fouls.
Paul finished with 17 points and JaVale McGee added 13 and 12 rebounds in 20 minutes as a reserve.
Phoenix’s winning streak is the third longest in team history, equaling 14 consecutive wins in 1992. The Suns won 17 in a row during the 2006-07 season.
CHARLOTTE 106
ORLANDO 99
ORLANDO, Florida.- Terry Rozier scored 27 points and Kelly Oubre contributed 21 points and six rebounds as a reserve to help the Charlotte Hornets recover from a difficult offensive evening and defeat the Orlando Magic 106-99 on Wednesday night.
LaMelo Ball scored 22 points for the Hornets, who have reached seven wins in their last eight games.
Mo Bamba finished with 18 points and 12 boards for Orlando. Rookie Jalen Suggs added 17 points and six assists in what was the Magic’s fourth straight loss.
Rozier, who had just scored 32 points against Washington on Monday night when he made eight of 11 3-point attempts, just hit 3 of 11 from long range shots against Orlando. The Hornets, who came into this game second in the NBA in 3-pointers, had just 12 of 41 shots (29%).
The Hornets trailed after missing 12 of their first 13 shots, but rallied from Ball, Rozier and Oubre to lead 52-49 at halftime.
MILWAUKEE114
DETROIT 93
MILWAUKEE, Wis.- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Bobby Portis added another 28 and the Milwaukee Bucks extended their dominance over the Detroit Pistons with a 114-93 win Wednesday night.
The victory was Milwuakee’s fifth in a row and its 12th straight win over Detroit since 2018. It is the third-longest active streak of one NBA team over another.
Jrue Holiday finished with 22 points for the Bucks, who took a 14-0 lead and were never down on the scoreboard. It was his second game in a row with an explosive start. In their previous meeting, the Bucks opened a 77-36 margin over Orlando, their biggest halftime lead in franchise history.
Five Bucks players – Antetokounmpo, Portis, Holiday, Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton – combined for 105 points.
Cade Cunningham, the 20-year-old rookie from Detroit and the No. 1 overall pick in the last draft, had nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Trey Lyles contributed 19 points and seven boards as a reserve.
Portis, who had 10 rebounds, matched his career best streak with four straight double-double games.
The Pistons hit their fourth loss of the season.
NEW ORLEANS 127
WASHINGTON 102
NEW ORLEANS.- Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans only got their fourth victory of the season by defeating the Washington Wizards 127-102 on Wednesday night.
Josh Hart put an exclamation point on his 16-point performance with a half-court basket as he was fouled in the final second of the third quarter.
He gave New Orleans a 95-73 lead and the Pelicans shot practically sentenced the game when Nickeil Alexander-Walker and center Willy Hernangomez hit back-to-back triples to make it 103-75 with 8:59 left.
Bradley Beal had 23 points but didn’t get much help from the rest of the Wizards, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Spencer Dinwiddie had 11 points and Montrezl Harrell had 10 points and nine boards.
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