NBA roundup: Nets win showdown with Suns

[April 26, 2021]  Kyrie Irving had 34 points with 12 assists and Kevin Durant scored 33 points after a brief time away as the Brooklyn Nets earned a 128-119 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday in a showdown between two of the top teams in the NBA.

Blake Griffin scored 16 points, as the Nets backed up their standing as the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Devin Booker scored 36 for Phoenix while Deandre Ayton scored 20 with 13 rebounds as the Suns dropped consecutive games for the first time since January. Phoenix, which entered as the No. 2 team in the Western Conference, is 2-2 on a five-game East Coast trip with a final game at the New York Knicks Monday.

Durant, who entered as a substitute with eight minutes remaining in the first half, showed little rust after missing the last three games with a thigh contusion. He was 12 of 21 from the field in 28 minutes of action.

Hawks 111, Bucks 104

Bogdan Bogdanovic matched his season high with 32 points and Lou Williams scored all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to spark Atlanta to a come-from-behind win over visiting Milwaukee.

Bogdanovic and Williams each had three treys during a 19-6 fourth-quarter run that allowed Atlanta to snap its six-game losing streak against Milwaukee. The Hawks were playing without leading scorer Trae Young for the second straight night with a left ankle sprain.

Milwaukee got 31 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 23 points from Khris Middleton.

Hornets 125, Celtics 104

Charlotte guard Devonte' Graham scored 24 points, and four Hornets reached the 20-point mark in defeating visiting Boston.

P.J. Washington had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Terry Rozier tallied 21 points and 11 assists, and Miles Bridges had 20 points. Each of the team's top four scorers made at least four 3-point shots, topped by Graham with six and Rozier with five.

The Hornets have won consecutive games following losses in six of seven games. Boston's spring surge has stalled with losses in three of its past four games.

Warriors 117, Kings 113

Draymond Green assisted on a go-ahead hoop by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 1:42 to play and then followed in a Stephen Curry miss 34 seconds later, helping Golden State outfinish visiting Sacramento.

A second straight win pushed Golden State over .500 in its pursuit of a playoff spot in the Western Conference and gave the Warriors a 2-1 season-series victory over their Northern California rival.

Oubre chipped in with 19 points and Andrew Wiggins 13 for the Warriors. Buddy Hield had a team-high 25 points, and Tyrese Haliburton had 24 to go with a team-high eight assists for the Kings, who lost for the 11th time in their last 13 games.

Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) is guarded by Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Grizzlies 120, Trail Blazers 113

Dillon Brooks scored 17 of his 18 points in the second half, including eight over a critical late-game run, to lead Memphis to a defeat of host Portland.

Morant led all scorers with 28 points as the Grizzlies swept a back-to-back with Portland.

CJ McCollum scored 27 points for Portland while Lillard added 23 and Norman Powell had 17. Jusuf Nurkic grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds to go with 16 points for Portland. The loss was the Trail Blazers' fifth straight and ninth in the past 11 contests.

Wizards 119, Cavaliers 110

Bradley Beal scored 33 points and Washington rallied past visiting Cleveland for its eighth straight win.

The Wizards, who trailed by eight early in the fourth quarter, closed the game with an 11-2 run. Russell Westbrook had 14 points and 11 assists, and Robin Lopez and Raul Neto scored 14 points each for Washington.

Darius Garland scored 28 points and Jarrett Allen added a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were without guard Collin Sexton (concussion). Cleveland has lost five of six.
 

Pacers 131, Magic 112

Malcolm Brogdon collected 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lift visiting Indiana over Orlando, sending the Magic to its fifth straight loss and 11th in the last 12 games.

Brogdon made 10 of 17 shots from the floor for the Pacers, who have won three in a row overall and completed a season sweep of Orlando for the fifth time in the last seven campaigns. Edmond Sumner scored 21 points and Justin Holiday had 20 off the bench. Holiday made 6 of 8 shots from beyond the arc.

Indiana overcame the absence of All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis (back) and Myles Turner (foot). Dwayne Bacon scored 20 points for the Magic, who saw Devin Cannady sustain an open fracture of his right ankle after landing awkwardly while contesting a layup by Sumner with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter.

--Field Level Media