LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Phoenix star Kevin Durant scored 39 points and thwarted Utah’s Lauri Markkanen at the final buzzer on Sunday as the Suns beat the Jazz, 140-137, in an NBA double-overtime thriller.
Durant added eight rebounds and 10 assists while Devin Booker scored 26 points for the Suns.
Markkanen led Utah with 38 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
Durant scored eight points in the second overtime, which the Suns led 138-135 with 43.2 seconds left.
Markkanen’s layup sliced the deficit to one but Booker drained two free throws to put Phoenix up 140-137 with nine-tenths of a second left.
76ers 121, Nets 99
Raptors 142, Pistons 113
Magic 128, Pacers 116
Cavaliers 121, Nuggets 109
Kings 129, Mavericks 113
Suns 140, Jazz 137 (2 OT)
Celtics 102, Grizzlies 100
Thunder 134, Blazers 91
Lakers 105, Rockets 104
Markkanen had a last chance, with officials initially ruling he was fouled by Durant on a failed three-point attempt. But that call was overturned on review and the Suns had the win.
Utah had trailed much of the night before Markkanen forced the first overtime with a layup with 20.3 seconds left in regulation.
Phoenix jumped to a 123-118 lead in the first extra session, but Utah clawed back and Collin Sexton forced a second overtime with a putback layup.
Durant notched his 12th straight game with 25 or more points, the longest such streak in Suns history.
The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a season-high 37 points from superstar LeBron James, held off the Houston Rockets 105-104.
Austin Reaves, fed by James, drilled a three-pointer to put the Lakers up 103-100 with 24.2 seconds to play. But Alperen Sengun’s layup tied it up at 104-104 with four seconds left.
James, fouled under the rim, made one of two free throws to clinch it.
James added six rebounds and eight assists and Anthony Davis scored 27 points with 10 rebounds. Reaves finished with 17 points off the bench — a key contribution on a night when Lakers starters Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince and D’Angelo Russell struggled offensively.
The Boston Celtics also had a narrow escape, stretching their winning streak to six games with a 102-100 victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis.
A back-and-forth battle featuring 18 lead changes saw the Celtics survive when Kristaps Porzingis drove for a go-ahead dunk with one minute, one second remaining then blocked Ziaire Williams’s last-gasp attempt at the buzzer.
Porzingis led the Celtics with 26 points, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking six shots.
Elsewhere, the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the NBA champion Denver Nuggets 121-109 as frustrated Nuggets star Nikola Jokic battled foul trouble and ended the game watching from the bench.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 26 points and rookie Craig Porter Jr. added a career-high 21 to help the Cavs to a third straight victory despite the absence of star guard Donovan Mitchell and top reserve Caris LeVert.
