Dillon Brooks scored 17 of his 27 points in Phoenix’s 45-point third quarter and the host Suns handled the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-113 on Friday.
Jordan Goodwin put up 17 points and made five 3-pointers, Collin Gillespie added 16 points, Grayson Allen scored 13 points and Royce O’Neale had 12 for the Suns, who won their third straight and are 11 games over .500 (30-19) for the first time this season.
The Suns, who led by 33 early in the fourth quarter, made a season-high 23 3-pointers in 48 attempts. Gillespie and O’Neale sank four apiece and Jalen Green had three in his return.
De’Andre Hunter led Cleveland with 17 points and Donovan Mitchell and Jaylon Tyson added 16 points each for the Cavaliers, who had won a season-high five straight. Mitchell, tied for third in the league with a 29.4 scoring average, committed eight turnovers.
Green scored 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench in his first game since aggravating a right hamstring injury at Atlanta on Jan. 23. Green, acquired with Brooks in a summer trade that sent Kevin Durant to Houston, has played in five of the Suns’ 49 games.
Gillespie’s fourth 3-pointer gave the Suns a 112-79 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter, the biggest deficit the Cavaliers have faced this season.
The Cavaliers committed a season-high 22 turnovers that the Suns turned into 36 points. The Suns are averaging 16.9 opponents’ turnovers per game, third in the league.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson was ejected with 10:59 left after receiving his second technical foul.
O’Neale made consecutive 3-pointers in an 8-0 run in the final four minutes of the second period for a 49-39 lead. It was 52-47 at halftime.
Green sank a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run for a 77-60 lead with 5:39 to go in the third quarter, shortly after he fell hard on his back during a scramble for a rebound and stayed on the floor for a few moments before walking off. He re-entered eight seconds later.
The Cavaliers were without guard Darius Garland (toe) and forward Evan Mobley (calf). Garland missed his eighth straight game and Mobley missed his second in a row.
–Field Level Media
