Suns center JaVale McGee attempts to get off a shot while being defended by Pistons center Isaiah Stewart on Sunday in Detroit. McGee scored 20 points in the Suns’ 135-108 win. Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

DETROIT — Devin Booker scored 30 points and JaVale McGee added 20 as the Phoenix Suns beat the Detroit Pistons 135-108 on Sunday.

Cameron Payne added 19 points for Phoenix, which has won six of seven. The Suns had six players in double figures.

Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham finished with 21 points before being ejected in the third quarter.

Cory Joseph also scored 21 for Detroit, which is 5-4 in 2022 after finishing 2021 with 18 losses in 19 games.

Phoenix built a 64-54 halftime lead behind 21 points from Booker, and JaVale McGee scored eight points in the first three minutes of the third to move the margin to 15.

It was 79-60 when the Pistons switched to a zone defense, but Jae Crowder promptly hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep Phoenix comfortably ahead.

Advertisement

After Booker blew through the Pistons defense for a dunk, Cunningham answered with a reverse dunk at the other end to make it 89-69. Cunningham pointed at Booker after the play and was called for his second technical foul of the game, ending his night.

ROCKETS 118, KINGS 112: Christian Wood had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Eric Gordon made a clutch bucket with 12.5 seconds remaining and Houston held on to win in Sacramento, California.

Kevin Porter Jr. added 23 points and seven assists for the Rockets. Garrison Mathews scored 17, while Eric Gordon and Jalen Green had 15 points apiece.

Buddy Hield scored 27 points for Sacramento, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. Terence Davis had 17 points, and De’Aaron Fox added 14 points before getting ejected in the fourth after getting called for a Flagrant 2.

The Rockets, who lost to the Kings 126-114 on Friday, trailed going into the fourth but took control with an 18-5 run. Mathews had eight points during the run, including a four-point play, moments after he crashed to the court following the hard foul by Fox.

JAZZ 125, NUGGETS 102: Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 19 rebounds in his return to Utah’s lineup, Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and the Jazz won in Denver.

Advertisement

Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 21 points to help the Jazz end a four-game skid.

Gobert had missed the previous five games after testing positive for COVID-19. Utah beat Denver in its first game without him but then dropped the next four.

The Jazz have won all three meetings with the Nuggets his season, including two on the road, and in this one they used a big fourth quarter to pull away.

TIMBERWOLVES 119, WARRIORS 99: Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota to a victory over worn-out Golden State in Minneapolis, who played without star Steph Curry.

Jaylen Nowell scored 17 points and Malik Beasley added in 16 on five second-half 3-pointers on an especially productive night for the reserves. The Timberwolves outscored a Warriors team wrapping up a four-game trip 40-19 in the last 16 minutes.

Jordan Poole scored 20 points and Jonathan Kuminga had 19 points for the Warriors. They played again without Draymond Green and lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Advertisement

NOTES

NETS: Kevin Durant has a sprained medial collateral ligament of his left knee, sidelining the NBA’s leading scorer just as the Brooklyn Nets were poised to finally have a lengthy run with their Big Three.

Durant was injured Saturday in a victory over New Orleans when teammate Bruce Brown was knocked backward and fell into his knee. Durant had an MRI exam Sunday that confirmed the injury.

The Nets said Durant was expected to return to full strength following a period of rehabilitation, but didn’t provide a timetable.

Brooklyn starts a four-game road trip Monday in Cleveland to begin a stretch where it plays nine of 11 games on the road. That would have given the Nets plenty of games with Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, who is ineligible to play at home because he is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, as mandated for professional athletes playing in New York City’s public venues.

The three All-Stars have played together in just two games, with the Nets winning both.

Durant is averaging 29.3 points. The Nets are a half-game behind Chicago for the best record in the Eastern Conference.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.