NBA

Booker shines as Suns down Bulls, clutch Thompson lifts Warriors past OKC

By Sports Desk February 08, 2022

Devin Booker top scored with 38 points as the table-topping Phoenix Suns withstood the Chicago Bulls' late charge to win 127-124 on Monday.

Booker shot 14 of 23 from the field including five three-pointers with four rebounds and five assists, while veteran guard Chris Paul contributed 19 points and 11 assists.

The Suns guard reached 30 points for the third time in the past four games as Phoenix won their 13th game from their past 14.

The Bulls charged into contention with a 41-25 fourth-quarter run after the Suns had led by 27 points in the third.

DeMar DeRozan top scored for Chicago with 38 points along with five rebounds and four assists and Zach LaVine returned from injury with 32 points, with six rebounds and eight assists.

 

Clutch Klay leads Warriors past OKC

Klay Thompson top scored for the Golden State Warriors with 21 points including some clutch three-pointers and Stephen Curry had a near triple-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in a 110-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals as the Utah Jazz won 113-104 over the New York Knicks, while seven Miami Heat players scored double figures in a 121-100 win over the Washington Wizards.

 

New All-Star Ball struggles

On the same day he received his debut All-Star call, LaMelo Ball struggled as the Charlotte Hornets went down 116-101 to the Toronto Raptors. Ball shot five-of-19 from the field and one-of-six from beyond the arc for his 15 points, while he also had seven turnovers.

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    The news was first reported Saturday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

    Rajakovic will become the 10th coach in franchise history and was picked over Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, according to Wojnarowski.

    A native of Serbia, Rajakovic has been an NBA assistant coach since 2014, serving on the Grizzlies' staff the last three seasons.

    His first coaching job in the NBA was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and after six seasons there he spent the 2019-20 season with the Phoenix Suns before becoming Taylor Jenkins' top assistant on the Memphis bench.

    The last three seasons with Rajakovic on the staff, the Grizzlies have won a pair of Southwest Division titles while making the playoffs each time. They've compiled a .614 winning percentage - fifth best among all NBA teams in that span.

    Rajakovic replaces Nurse, who led the Raptors to the franchise’s only title in 2019, but was fired on April 21, nine days after losing 109-105 to the Chicago Bulls in their play-in game.

    Nurse, who was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers on May 29, led Toronto to a pair of Atlantic Division titles, however, the team finished last in the Atlantic this season with a 41-41 record to miss the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.

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  • Nuggets beat Heat to get within one win of franchise's first NBA championship Nuggets beat Heat to get within one win of franchise's first NBA championship

    Aaron Gordon provided a huge lift with 27 points and the Denver Nuggets received contributions from several sources in a 108-95 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday to get within one win of the franchise’s first NBA championship.

    Nikola Jokic worked around foul trouble to tally 23 points and 12 rebounds and Bruce Brown scored 11 of 21 points down the stretch to help the Nuggets take a 3-1 lead in the series. Denver can wrap up the title at home in Game 5 on Monday.

    Jamal Murray scored 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting but had 12 assists. His shooting struggles were offset by Gordon, who was 11 of 15 from the field with six rebounds and six assists. Brown connected on 8 of 11 field goals and his third 3-pointer of the night with 1:21 left pushed the advantage to 108-91.

    Jokic went to the bench with 9:24 to play after he committed his fifth foul with Denver holding a 10-point lead. He checked back in just over five minutes later with the Nuggets leading 96-87.

    Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Bam Adebayo added 20 with 11 rebounds, but the Heat had their final lead at 23-20 early in the second quarter. They cut the deficit to 94-87 midway through the fourth before Brown scored Denver’s next eight points to make it 102-91.

    Miami appears to be wearing down with its sixth loss in eight games since taking a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

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    Nikola Jokic again proved a mismatch for Miami, wthe Serbian posting 23 points and 10 rebounds.

    He was ably supported by Aaron Gordon, who finished with a game-high 27 points in one of the best performances of his career.

    Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 45 points for the Heat, who were ultimately let down by another poor shooting effort from three.

    Miami shot just 32 per cent from deep, while the Nuggets drained half of their three-point attempts.

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    But Denver exploded for 31 points in the third quarter, claiming an advantage which, despite a rally late in the fourth, Miami were ultimately unable to overcome.

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