The Phoenix Suns will continue to learn how to cope with the absence of All-Star Devin Booker on Friday night when they visit the struggling Toronto Raptors.

Before losing 127-102 to the host Washington Wizards on Wednesday, the Suns announced that Booker would have his groin injury re-evaluated in four weeks.

Booker, who is averaging 27.1 points and has scored more than 50 points twice this season, has missed seven of the past 10 games with hamstring and groin injuries. He played just four minutes Sunday in a 128-125 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets that opened a six-game road trip.

The Suns came back with a 125-108 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

The Raptors will be playing the second half of back-to-back games. They lost their fifth straight home game Thursday, 119-106 to the Grizzlies. Toronto has lost eight of its past 10 games overall.

“It’s pretty unacceptable with the effort we gave,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought the loose-ball count was all in their favor. I’m not talking about 50-50 balls either. I’m talking about ones where we had huge advantages to get and we just (did not). … That’s our identity, who we are. Right? When we’re tipping balls away, we’re the first ones to the floor to get them, and we weren’t close to that tonight.”

As for the Suns, Deandre Ayton scored 31 points against the Wizards, while Chris Paul added 20 points and Mikal Bridges scored 17.

“They attacked us,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Close-outs weren’t great. And in that third quarter and beginning of the fourth, it was just one close-out after another and they were getting to the rim.”

Williams said he does not want Bridges, Ayton and Paul to feel as if they have to “try save the world” during Booker’s absence.

“We just need to do what we did (at Memphis),” Williams said. “Everything was by committee. We played unbelievably hard, with force. We shared the ball. It’s a chance for us to grow that part of our program. I felt like we had drifted away from it over the last month or so.”

“Just keep playing,” Paul added. “Hold the fort down.”

“It’s good for guys to get on the court and learn and play through some stuff so when (Booker) gets back, we’re going to be an even more polished team,” Suns guard Josh Okogie said. “I’m thinking in the future in the playoffs when Booker sits on the bench for however many minutes it is to get his breather, we’re going to be so polished knowing how to play without him we’re going to know what to do.”

The Suns also have been dealing with injuries to Cameron Payne (foot), Landry Shamet (Achilles) and Cam Johnson (knee).

In their loss to the Grizzlies, the Raptors got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Pascal Siakam.

“Certainly, lately we’ve been lacking in playing to our identity,” Nurse said. “I don’t know. We’re just a little bit disjointed right now and we’ve got us, we’ve got to hang in there and get to work and keep showing them what we’re talking about and hopefully they’ll go out there and execute. They should get tired of this pretty soon and start playing.”

The Raptors were without Fred VanVleet (back) Thursday, though he is day-to-day. Precious Achiuwa (ankle) could return Friday.

–Field Level Media

Luka Doncic recorded his eighth triple-double of the season, while Christian Wood scored 12 of his 21 points in the third period as the host Dallas Mavericks sprinted past the Houston Rockets 129-114 on Thursday for their fifth consecutive victory.

Doncic finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists to lead a Mavericks offense that shot 51.6 percent overall while producing a 25-5 advantage in fast-break points. Doncic was coming off a historic 60-21-10 line against the Knicks two nights earlier.

Doncic had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists in the opening period, but it wasn’t until the second quarter that Dallas began to pull away, starting with a corner 3-pointer from Tim Hardaway Jr. (18 points) that provided the Mavericks their first double-digit lead at 48-37 with 5:56 left in the first half.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 23 points, while Kevin Porter Jr. added 17 points and seven assists. Jabari Smith Jr. matched Doncic with 14 first-quarter points but finished with only 16 for the game.

Grizzlies 119, Raptors 106

Ja Morant scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter and added a career-best 17 assists as visiting Memphis defeated Toronto.

Dillon Brooks scored 25 points and Steven Adams had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who won for the second time in their past six games. Desmond Bane added 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 15 for Memphis.

Before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto. Gary Trent Jr. added 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost eight of their past 10 games and five straight at home.

Celtics 116, Clippers 110

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored 29 points as Boston beat Los Angeles to cap a seven-game homestand.

Brown scored 12 in the fourth quarter to help the Celtics close out their fourth straight win, while Tatum grabbed 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Marcus Smart had 17 points, nine assists and two steals, while Derrick White added 15 points and Robert Williams III 12 for Boston.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 26 points to go with eight rebounds, and Paul George had 24 points and six assists for the Clippers, who had five players score in double figures.

Pacers 135, Cavaliers 126

Tyrese Haliburton collected 29 points and nine assists and Buddy Hield added 25 points to fuel Indiana to a victory over Cleveland in Indianapolis.

Haliburton made six 3-pointers and Hield had five as the Pacers converted 61.3 percent of their shots from beyond the arc (19 of 31). Rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench, and Indiana earned its fourth win in five games.

The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored a team-high 28 points. Jarrett Allen collected 19 points and 14 rebounds and Caris LeVert scored 19 points for Cleveland, which has lost three in a row.

Hornets 121, Thunder 113

LaMelo Ball poured in 27 points and came one assist shy of a triple-double as Charlotte returned home and defeated Oklahoma City.

Ball added 10 rebounds to an inspiring all-around performance to provide a boost to the struggling team. P.J. Washington added 25 points and Mark Williams, who has spent a large chunk of the season in the G League, came off the bench for 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 28 points led the Thunder, making him the team’s top scorer for the 12th time in the last 13 games. Luguentz Dort added 22 points and Josh Giddey 21 for Oklahoma City.

Spurs 122, Knicks 115

Keldon Johnson scored 30 points and Romeo Langford added a career-high 23 as host San Antonio had every answer late on the way to handing New York its fifth consecutive loss.

Julius Randle scored a season-high 41 points to go with 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Immanuel Quickley added a career-best 36 points. The Knicks played without Jalen Brunson (hip) and RJ Barrett (finger).

The Spurs held an 11-point lead at halftime and were never really challenged in the second half, going up by 17 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Randle’s 3-pointer at the end of the third brought New York within 92-79.

–Field Level Media