LOS ANGELES, United States —
Devin Booker and
Deandre Ayton powered the
NBA-leading Phoenix Suns to a 108-90
victory Tuesday over the Los Angeles Lakers, whose superstar LeBron James
suffered a left ankle injury.
اضافة اعلان
Booker delivered 24 points, nine rebounds
and seven assists while Bahamas big man Ayton contributed 19 points and 11
rebounds as the Suns won their fourth game in a row and sixth in seven starts.
The Suns, who lost to Milwaukee in last
season's NBA Finals, improved the NBA's best record to 25-5, just ahead of the
Golden State Warriors (26-6). It marks the team's second-best 30-game start in
team history.
Phoenix started 0-for-9 from 3-point range
and finished 12-for-41 with Booker, just back from a hamstring injury that had
him miss seven games, going 6-for-11 from beyond the arc.
"Just trust your work," Booker
said. "We spend countless hours in the gym. There are four quarters in the
game so we try to keep going and stick it out."
The Suns led only 54-52 at halftime but
stretched the margin to 85-73 entering the fourth quarter and pulled away from
there.
Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James led
the Lakers with 34 points on 13-of-19 shooting and added seven rebounds, two
assists and two steals while Russell Westbrook added 22 points and 10 rebounds
for the hosts, whose losing streak hit three games.
James, who turns 37 next week, drove to the
hoop near the midpoint of the third quarter and his left foot landed on the
foot of Phoenix forward Jae Crowder.
James collapsed to the court, grabbed the
ankle, rolled over and pounded the court three times with his left fist.
He stayed in the game but wasn't around for
the finish, and the Lakers have to be concerned about the status of his ankle
with big man
Anthony Davis sidelined for four weeks by a knee injury.
The Lakers fell to 16-16 to share seventh in
the Western Conference.
At Miami, Heat reserve
Tyler Herro and
starter
Duncan Robinson each scored 26 points to power Miami over Indiana
125-96, delivering the Pacers' most lopsided loss of the season.
Despite Miami stars
Bam Adebayo and
Jimmy Butler being injured, the Heat won for the fifth time in seven games.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry just missed a
triple-double with eight points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists for the Heat.
Herro, the NBA's top reserve scorer, missed
the prior three games with a quad injury and said the Heat thrive on depth and
being prepared every game.
"Next man up mentality," Herro
said. "Everyone has been filling in for other guys, picking up the
quality. When we get everybody back, we'll be in great shape.
"We want to win a championship. We feel
like we have a great locker room and the guys who can get the job done. We're
deep. Once everyone gets healthy, there's no limit for this team."
Knicks, Mavericks win
French guard Evan Fournier scored a
game-high 22 points while Kemba Walker added 21 points and
Julius Randle had 21
points and 11 rebounds to power the New York Knicks over visiting Detroit
105-91.
Jalen Brunson scored 28 points to lead the
Dallas Mavericks over visiting Minnesota 114-102. Karl-Anthony Towns had
26 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves while
Malik Beasley added 22
points in a losing cause.
Brandon Ingram scored 28 points, grabbed
eight rebounds and passed off eight assists to power the New Orleans Pelicans
over visiting Portland 111-97.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker came off the
Pelicans bench to score 27 points while Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 16 rebounds
for the hosts.
Damian Lillard netted 39 for the Trail
Blazers in a losing effort.
The NBA has placed 85 players in the COVID-19
health and safety protocols and seven games have been postponed, including a
Washington at Brooklyn contest that was set for Tuesday.
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