Booker shines as Suns scorch Sixers to topple last unbeaten team in league

Source:AFP Published: 2019/11/5 20:28:42

Photo: AFP



Phoenix's Devin Booker scored 40 points to lead the Suns over visiting Philadelphia 114-109 on Monday, delivering the first loss of the season to the NBA's last unbeaten team.

Spanish guard Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 10 assists for the Suns while Phoenix poured in 23 points off 20 Philadelphia turnovers.

Booker, who turned 23 last week, became the eighth-youngest player in NBA history to crack the 6,000 career points mark. The fifth-season guard was greeted by chants of "M-V-P" for Most Valuable Player as he walked off the court.

The Suns, who haven't made the playoffs since 2010, improved to 5-2 while the 76ers slid to 5-1. It took Phoenix 29 games last season to reach a fifth victory.

"You can play with anybody in the freaking league," Suns coach Monty Williams told his team after the game. "Great job guys."

Al Horford led the 76ers with 32 points while Tobias Harris added 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Sixers played without Cameroon star big man Joel Embiid, who was serving the second game of a two-game ban after a brawl with Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns, also suspended for two games.

Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to power Milwaukee over host Minnesota 134-106 after a 49-minute delay at the start to fix a faulty basket.

Khris Middleton added 26 points and Eric Bledsoe 22 for the Bucks (5-2) while Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota (4-2) for 25 points.

Houston's James Harden and Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving had big nights in wins.

One night after an embarrassing 29-point loss at Miami, the Houston Rockets bounced back to beat host ­Memphis 107-100 behind NBA scoring leader Harden's 44 points on 12-of-28 shooting and 10 rebounds in a game where Russell Westbrook was benched for a rest.

It was Harden's 80th career game with 40 or more points.

Irving scored 39 points on 13-of-21 shooting and added nine assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets over visiting New Orleans 135-125.

"This is my playground out here," Irving said. "I just love to be playing basketball and playing aggressive."



Posted in: BASKETBALL

blog comments powered by Disqus