CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Devin Booker led a balanced Phoenix attack with 21 points and 11 assists as the Suns beat the Charlotte Hornets 107-96 Friday night for their fourth victory in six games.
Grayson Allen and Bradley Beal each scored 15 points, and Jusuf Nurkic had 13 points and 21 rebounds for the Suns (39-28), who rebounded from a lopsided 127-112 loss to the top-ranked Boston Celtics on Thursday night. .
“That’s the name of the game for us,” said Kevin Durant, who had 13 points and was one of six Suns to reach double figures. “There will be nights where everyone has to contribute to scoring the ball and tonight was one of those nights.”
Vasa Micic continued his career-high 25-point effort Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies with 21 points to lead Charlotte. Miles Bridges added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.
The Suns entered the game in seventh place in the heavily loaded Western Conference standings and fought to avoid having to fight their way into the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
Only two games separated fifth-place New Orleans and ninth-place Dallas heading into Friday night’s games.
Phoenix led by 25 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets quickly cut the lead to 10 when Brandon Miller pushed Durant out of the way with his shoulder, causing the 2014 league MVP to stumble backwards and knock down a 3 point with six minutes left. remaining.
But Durant responded with a baseline jumper and Nurkic grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a two-handed dunk to extend the lead to 16 points with two minutes left to start sending the fans toward the exits.
Miller surpassed 1,000 career points in his 60th career game, becoming the third-fastest Hornets rookie to reach that mark behind Alonzo Mourning (53 games) and Larry Johnson (55 games).
Durant said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from Miller, the No. 2 overall pick, and how he’s adjusting to the professional game.
“Usually it’s around this time of year that rookies start to understand the game a little more,” Durant said. “Their coach puts him in the best position to just learn and get better. That’s always the best way to do it: throw guys into the fire and let them play and get better.
The Suns overcame a 13-0 run by the Hornets in the first quarter to take a 54-45 lead at the break, limiting the Hornets to 2-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc.
“When you miss three or four in a row like that, sometimes you just have to play harder, push the ball harder and try to get something going toward the basket,” the coach said of the Hornets, Steve Clifford. “Even in the second half we shot the ball really poorly.”
Suns coach Frank Vogel once again praised Durant’s defense, saying he would be disappointed if he was not selected to the NBA All-Defensive team.
It’s an honor that has eluded Durant since he arrived in the league in 2007.
“He’s one of the best in the league at iso defense and on-ball defense,” Vogel said. “It’s really long and physical. He doesn’t get enough credit for that side of the ball. … He guards the other team’s best perimeter player almost every night. He guarded the 5 and the point guards and did almost everything.
FOLLOWING
Suns: At Milwaukee on Sunday.
Hornets: Open four-game trip to Philadelphia on Saturday.
——
APNBA:
