Phoenix, Oct. 31 (US): Devin Booker was feeling good on the court for his 25th birthday and watched Michal Bridges head to the edge. He let the pass fly from beyond the half-court, bridges soared into the air, repelled by two hands and stuffed through the hoop.
For the first time in a while, the Phoenix Suns looked a lot like the Suns that reached the NBA Finals last year, AP reports.
Booker scored 27 points and nine assists, Dendry Eaton added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-92 on Saturday night.
“She was just coming out, and her pace was a little slow,” Booker said. “Just play basketball.”
The Suns used a 50-12 round that Poker called “crazy” to unlock the game. The dominant stretch — which included plenty of Suns break-fast buckets and a lot of Cavs turnovers — ran from mid-second to late third-quarter and turned a 14-point deficit into a 24-point lead.
“We think we can do that all the time,” Cameron Johnson said. “You keep your head down, you keep pushing, you keep trying to get better, you keep trying to get back into the top level basketball tournament. I think we have a good team, good people who are always challenging.
“That period of the game showed that.”
He was a reassuring extension for the Suns, who looked little like a team that had two wins over two wins in the NBA Finals last season. Phoenix 2-3 this season and lost twice in a row.
Chris Paul added 16 points and 10 assists. Eaton shot 8 out of 10 from the field but left in the second half with a contusion to the right leg. The 6-foot-11 forward said he hit his knees with a Cavaliers player during the game, but was feeling fine.
The Cavaliers were able to close the gap to 78-65 by the end of the third game but could not create enough ground in the fourth. It was Cleveland’s second loss in two days, which also fell to the Lakers 113-101 on Friday night.
Sidi Othman led the Cavaliers team with 20 points from the bench. He made 6 of 12 shots from a 3-point range. Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff pulled off most of his starts at the 50-12 break, frustrated by their ineffectiveness.
The Cavaliers had 19 spins.
The Cavaliers went up to 14 in the second quarter but the Suns responded with 19-2 to finish the first half and lead 50-46 at the break. Ayton scored 11 points, nine rebounds and three possession. Darius Garland scored nine goals for the Cleveland team.
CAVS Contracts
The Cavaliers announced that they chose the fourth-year option for Garland and Dylan Windler, along with the third-year option for goalkeeper Isaac Okoro. The moves mean they are all under contract until the 2022-23 season.
Garland was the No. 5 overall pick in 2019 and averaged 14.7 points over 117 games. Wendler was the 26th pick in 2019 and averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds last year as a backup. Okoro was the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft and averaged 9.5 points in his career.
Hints
Cavaliers: Okoro did not play due to a strain in his left hamstring. G Kevin Pangos has been out of the house for personal reasons.
Suns: J. Cameron Payne did not play due to a strain in his right hamstring. …the Suns missed the first nine three-pointers. They finished 6 out of 26 (23%) from the long run. … Johnson had 10 points off the bench. JaVale McGee added eight points and seven rebounds.
the following
Cavaliers: They wrapped up a five-game wild ride against the Hornets on Monday.
Suns: Host the Pelicans on Tuesday.