PHOENIX — — Grayson Allen scored 32 points and tied a career high with nine 3-pointers, leading the Phoenix Suns past the Philadelphia 76ers 115-102 on Wednesday night.
Allen made 10 of 17 shots from the field, including 9 of 15 from long range. He has made at least eight 3-pointers in seven games this season, which ranks second in the NBA behind Golden State’s Stephen Curry.
“A lot of them were passes from (Devin) Booker and his pick and rolls tonight, early kicks, heads up in transition,” Allen said. “I said thank you to him when we were sitting on the bench after the match. I have a lot of beauty.
“I missed a few early, but the ball kept finding me and I just kept letting it fly.”
Kevin Durant added 22 points for the Suns while Booker had 18 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, falling just short of his first regular-season triple-double.
It wasn’t always a pretty game for the Suns — they had 23 turnovers — but Durant wasn’t complaining.
“It’s about winning, man. We just want to win games,” Durant said. “I know sometimes it’s how you win that counts, but at this stage of the season we just have to add wins.”
The Sixers trailed by 26 points early in the fourth but cut the Suns’ lead to 102-91 with 5:15 to play. Durant and Allen made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to turn the rally back.
Allen hit back-to-back 3s, sandwiched around a Durant bucket, to give the Suns an 81-64 lead with 4:32 left in the third. Phoenix finished the quarter on a 17-2 run for a 90-66 advantage heading into the fourth.
Philadelphia was led by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 18 points while Cameron Payne and Jeff Dowtin Jr. scored 12 each off the bench. The Sixers made only 7 of 18 free throws (38%).
The Sixers continued their long slide – they are 9-18 since January 25. It’s a stretch that roughly reflects the amount of time seven-time All-Star center Joel Embiid has missed since left knee surgery.
“We just didn’t seem to be moving with the energy that we needed to,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “We know they can devastate you from 3, and we talked about trying to limit their attempts tonight, and we just couldn’t do it.
Durant, a 14-time All-Star, passed Shaquille O’Neal for eighth place on the NBA’s career scoring list. The 35-year-old has 28,610 points. Next on the list is Wilt Chamberlain, who has 31,419.
The Suns got off to a rough start, missing their first eight shots while turning the ball over four times. They recovered quickly, using a 23-6 run in the second quarter to take a 60-47 halftime advantage despite 13 turnovers.
The Suns shot 10 of 20 (50%) from 3-point range and had a 34-18 rebounding advantage going into the break. Allen led the way with 13 points, making 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
“He’s still a threat to do what he did tonight,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said.
FOLLOWING
76ers: Host Atlanta on Thursday night.
Suns: At the Lakers Friday night.
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