The host Phoenix Suns saw Chris Paul be ejected twice on technical fouls in his homecoming game, while Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and Devin Booker added 25. The Golden State Warriors lost 123-115 on Wednesday night.
Paul was given back-to-back technical fouls for contesting a foul call late in the second quarter. Paul played with the Suns for the previous three seasons before being traded to the Washington Wizards in the offseason.
Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach, was also given a technical foul for verbally endorsing Paul.
Booker added eight rebounds and a game-high ten assists. For the seventh time in eight games, the Warriors were defeated, despite a team-high 23 points by Klay Thompson.
Nets 145 – Hawks 147 (OT)
With three games remaining in its losing skid, Atlanta defeated visiting Brooklyn, led by Trae Young, who scored 14 of his season-high 43 points in overtime.
With eighteen seconds left, Young made a basket to give Atlanta a 144-143 lead. Two free throws later, with 6.7 seconds remaining, he increased the lead to three points. With 3.9 seconds left, Young split a pair of free throws to give Brooklyn a two-point lead after Mikal Bridges scored two free throws. When the buzzer went off, Lonnie Walker IV missed a deep 3-point shot.
De’Andre Hunter scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Hawks, while Dejounte Murray scored 20 points. Along with 10 rebounds and 45 points, Bridges equaled his career high for the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie added 26 points and 12 assists, while Cam Johnson scored 23 points.
Bulls 102 – Thunder 116
Oklahoma City defeated visiting Chicago with 40 points and 12 assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, giving them their sixth straight victory. After six games, the Bulls have suffered five losses.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of his 18 free throw attempts. In addition, youngster Chet Holmgren finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. Isaiah Joe scored 20 points off the bench, making 5 of 7 shots from beyond the arc.
The Bulls were led by DeMar DeRozan, who scored 25 points, Coby White, who scored 23, and Nikola Vucevic, who scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Wizards 114 – Hornets 117
In the closing seconds, Miles Bridges scored the game-winning 3-pointer for the second straight game as Charlotte overcame visiting Washington.
In the Hornets’ second significant comeback in three nights, LaMelo Ball scored 34 points and dished out 13 assists, while Bridges added 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Bridges broke the deadlock with 47 seconds left by draining a three-pointer. With 17 seconds remaining, Ball made two free throws to give the Hornets a three-point lead again. However, with one-second remaining, Kyle Kuzma of Washington (28 points) missed a deep 3-point effort.
Nuggets 119 – Magic 124
With 1:49 left in the fourth quarter, Paolo Banchero made the game-winning 3-pointer to lead host Orlando past Denver.
Franz Wagner led Orlando to victory, scoring 27 points on 11 of 18 shots from the field to overcome Nikola Jokic’s triple-double. It was Orlando’s sixth consecutive victory. Banchero’s 23-point outburst was highlighted by his 4-of-5 3-point shooting performance.
Off the bench, Cole Anthony scored 20 more points for the Magic. Michael Porter Jr. contributed 25 points, and Jokic finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists for Denver.