Devin Booker's big night sparks Suns past Grizzlies

Field Level Media|published: Sun 3rd December, 24:03 2023

Dec 2, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (right) steals the ball from Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama in the first half at Footprint Center. credits: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Devin Booker recorded 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 116-109 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

Kevin Durant added 27 points for Phoenix but his streak of consecutive 30-point games ended at seven. Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 5:34 left as the Suns snapped a two-game skid.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored a season-best 37 points on 13-of-21 shooting and collected nine rebounds for the Grizzlies. Desmond Bane scored 20 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Vince Williams Jr. had 12 points for Memphis, which had a season-best two-game winning streak halted.

Booker missed Friday's loss to the Denver Nuggets with an ankle injury.

The Grizzlies trailed by a game-worst 16 points early in the fourth quarter but pulled within 113-107 when Bane stole the ball and fed Williams for a layup with 43.5 seconds to play.

Durant made two free throws with 19.9 seconds left to make it an eight-point margin. After a timeout, Memphis was flagged for a 5-second violation and the Suns closed it out.

Phoenix shot 43.4 percent from the field, including 9 of 26 from 3-point range.

The Grizzlies made 45.3 percent of their attempts and were 9 of 31 from behind the arc.

Jackson's driving hoop and Bane's 3-pointer allowed Memphis to creep within 105-96 with 2:47 remaining.

Bane drilled a long trey as Memphis cut its deficit to 109-101 with 1:58 left.

Jackson scored 15 points in the first half as the Grizzlies held a 51-50 lead. Booker had 15 in the half for Phoenix.

Jackson made his first eight shots, including a layup to give Memphis a 57-55 lead with 8:28 left in the third quarter.

The Suns responded with a 14-0 surge. Booker scored eight of the points, capped by a layup that gave Phoenix a 69-57 lead with 5:57 left in the period.

Booker had 12 points in the third quarter that concluded with the Suns leading 84-72. He then nailed a 3-pointer 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, causing Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins to call a timeout.

Keita Bates-Diop added a trey to make it 90-74 with 10:24 left in the contest.

—Field Level Media

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