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Chris Paul scored a season-high 32 points for
the Suns against his former team, while Jae Crowder added 17 as
the Suns lost their third consecutive game and fifth in their
last six.
Paul, who was traded from the Thunder to the Suns in November,
helped the Suns to a 17-point lead in the second quarter before
seeing his team fall into a 13-point hole in the third quarter.
Paul scored 27 second-half points in his first game with 30
points since Feb. 11 of last season.
Abdel Nader, who also went from the Thunder to the Suns this
past offseason, had a season-high 12 points for Phoenix. The
Suns were without leading scorer Devin Booker, who has missed
the last two games with a hamstring strain.
Horford added a team-high 11 rebounds after missing six games
following the birth of his daughter. Gilgeous-Alexander had a
game-high eight assists.
The Suns led 38-21 early in the second quarter, before the
Thunder finished the first half on a rush. Oklahoma City scored
the last 15 points of the second quarter and took a 45-42 lead
into the break, while holding Phoenix to 10 points in the
period.
The Suns were just 4 of 25 (16 percent) from the field in the
second quarter, while missing all 11 of their 3-point attempts.
The Thunder kept the pressure on to open the second half,
grabbing a 59-46 lead with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter
after a 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander. But the Suns answered
by closing the third quarter on a 25-14 run to pull within
73-71.
The Thunder outscored the Suns 29-26 in the fourth quarter,
winning their second consecutive game while completing their
five-game road trip at 2-3.
The Suns' Dario Saric cleared COVID-19 protocol and was
available Wednesday but did not play. He was out for the
previous four games.
--Field Level Media
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