Devin Booker scored 41 points, including 33 after halftime, as the Phoenix Suns beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 127-121 on Wednesday.
Kevin Durant added 26 points and Ryan Dunn contributed 16 as Phoenix (33-37) moved past the Dallas Mavericks into 10th position in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both posted 24 points for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 22 off the bench in his return from a three-game absence with an ankle injury.
A blowout loomed when Booker banked a step-back 3-pointer to have the Suns out 117-99, before the Bulls turned up the defensive pressure and fought to the finish line.
White’s pull-up 3-pointer capped an 8-0 burst and trimmed Phoenix’s lead to 121-117 with 27 seconds remaining.
The two sides traded late buckets before Cody Martin’s steal off White led to a Booker lay-up and sealed the victory for Phoenix.
The home side outscored Chicago 26-9 on second-chance points and 23-10 off turnovers.
The tone was set early as Chicago coughed up six first-quarter turnovers, enabling Phoenix to use separate 14-2 and 10-0 runs to march to a 31-22 lead after the opening period.
The Bulls trimmed the margin to 38-35 thanks to a 9-0 burst in the second frame, highlighted by Matas Buzelis’ athletic alley-oop slam from a Trey Jones lob and Zach Collins’ rejection of Martin’s attempted dunk.
But the Suns hit back through Durant and Richards and held sway at 63-51 on Colin Gillespie’s coast-to-coast lay-up on the half-time buzzer.
Phoenix was feasting on Chicago turnovers, holding a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers at the half.
Booker and Dunn had the Suns firing after intermission and the margin ballooned to 87-66 on Nick Richards’ driving dunk.
White did his best to haul the Bulls back, but Phoenix’s 12-3 edge on the boards for the period, including 5-0 on the offensive glass, meant the Suns still led 99-84 with a quarter to play.
Booker piled on Phoenix’s first nine points of the fourth frame and finished with 20 for the quarter.
–Field Level Media
