By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 40 points, Kevin Durant added 32 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-101 on Wednesday night, April 3.
The Suns have won six of their past eight, moving up to the No. 6 spot in a crowded Western Conference playoff race, which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament.
Booker — coming off a 52-point night in a win against New Orleans on Monday — shot 13 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Durant shot 13 of 23 and added seven assists.
It’s just the second time this season that Booker and Durant have both scored at least 30 in the same game. Bol Bol added 15 points off the bench, making 3 of 4 3-pointers.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell played against the Suns, one night after resting the sore left knee that’s caused him to miss much of March. The five-time All-Star finished with 24 points. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley both added 20.
The Suns rolled to a 72-47 lead by halftime, making 12 of 18 3-pointers. Booker led all scorers with 19 points before the break while Durant had 17.
Cleveland cut that deficit to 77-66 on Allen’s layup midway through the third, but the Suns bounced back to take a 98-77 lead heading into the fourth.
The Suns would avoid the play-in tournament if the season ended today, but there’s plenty of work to do. The Mavericks, Suns, Pelicans, Kings and Lakers — who currently occupy the five through nine spots in the West — are separated by just two games in the standings.
The Cavaliers are trying to protect the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Magic and Knicks are right behind them. Cleveland has an 11-15 record since Feb. 12.
The Suns played without starting guard Grayson Allen, who missed the game with left hip soreness.
In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis scored 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and had 18 rebounds, helping the Lakers beat the Washington Wizards, 125-120, for their eighth victory in nine games.
LeBron James had 25 points and nine assists, and Rui Hachimura scored 19 points for the Lakers against his former team. Davis was 10 of 17 from the field and made 15 free throws without a miss.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 29 points.
The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, meaning they’d have to win twice in the play-in tournament to make the main playoff bracket. But they’re making a push to move up. Los Angeles trailed Phoenix and Sacramento by 1 1/2 games entering Wednesday.
The physical, swarming play of Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic so frustrated New Orleans that three Pelicans players were ejected in the game’s final seconds.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Banchero said, referring to the back-to-back-to-back ejections of Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Dyson Daniels. “I’m not going to say we were the reason that happened, but I think just our play definitely frustrates you a little bit.”
Banchero scored 32 points — his 10th time reaching at least 30 points this season — and Orlando defeated New Orleans, 117-108, to lift the Magic half a game in front of the idle New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
