Deandre Ayton stars as Phoenix Suns win NBA Finals rematch against Milwaukee Bucks | NBA News

Deandre Ayton scored 27 points and Mikal Bridges added 18 as the Phoenix Suns beat Milwaukee 131-107 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals won by the Bucks.

The game was tight throughout most of the first half but the Suns slowly pulled away in the third quarter, building a 97-77 advantage going into the fourth. Ayton had an efficient night, shooting 12 of 14 from the field on a variety of post moves and jumpers.

Chris Paul added 17 points and 19 assists for his 500th career double-double. He’s just the fourth guard in NBA history to accomplish that feat.

The Bucks had a four-game winning streak snapped. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 21 points apiece. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Doncic scores career-high 51 as Mavs beat Clippers

Luka Doncic scored 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first quarter, and Dallas beat Los Angeles.

The 22-year-old star’s 3-point frenzy, part of the highest-scoring quarter in the NBA this season, came a few hours after the Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis to Washington. The European pairing of Doncic and Porzingis never developed quite like the club wanted in two-plus seasons.

Despite Doncic hitting seven of his first nine threes in the highest-scoring quarter of his career, regular season or playoffs, the Clippers were as close as two points in the fourth quarter. But that just set up Doncic for his first 50-point game.

LA stayed in the game with more balanced scoring, led by Marcus Morris Sr. with 21 points. Norman Powell had 19 and Reggie Jackson 18 in the first of consecutive meetings in Dallas. The rematch is Saturday.

Kuzma gets first career triple-double as Wizards squeeze past Nets

Kyle Kuzma had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, leading injury- and trade-depleted Washington over Kyrie Irving and equally in-flux Brooklyn.

Raul Neto scored a season-high 21 points in his first start of the season, and reserve Anthony Gill had a career-high 15 points for the Wizards, who took control at the end of a scoreless third quarter from Irving and hung on in the closing seconds.

Irving scored 31 points as the only star on the Nets’ makeshift roster as Brooklyn’s season-worst skid extended to 10 games. Cam Thomas added 27 points.

Earlier Thursday, the Nets broke up their Big Three, sending James Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers for disgruntled point guard Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and draft picks. Brooklyn had hoped Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant could win a championship, but the trio played only 16 games together.

Knicks beat Warriors despite Curry scoring 35

Julius Randle scored 28 points and matched his season-high of 16 rebounds, and New York earned its first win in four tries during its West Coast trip, holding off Golden State.

Stephen Curry scored 19 of his 35 points in the first half and dished out 10 assists in Golden State’s second straight loss, just the third time all season the Warriors have dropped consecutive contests.

Golden State got one last chance with 6.2 seconds left and Klay Thompson dribbled into the paint and missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Adebayo, Butler star as Heat spoil McCollum’s Pels debut

Bam Adebayo had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler also scored 29, and Miami beat the Pelicans to tarnish CJ McCollum’s New Orleans debut.

Kyle Lowry added 14 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to help Miami win its fourth straight while snapping New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

The crowd roared when McCollum, who was traded from Portland on Tuesday, was announced as a Pelicans starter. He scored 15 in his first game for New Orleans, but missed 15 of his 21 shots and was just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

Reserve guard Jose Alvarado, an undrafted rookie, had a team-high 17 points for New Orleans. Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte’ Graham each scored 16 for the Pelicans, while Brandon Ingram added 15.

Morant, Bane lead Grizzlies past Pistons

Ja Morant scored 23 points, Steven Adams added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Memphis routed Detroit.

Desmond Bane added 22 points for the Grizzlies, who have won four straight and seven of eight. Memphis had seven players score in double figures.

Jeremi Grant had 20 points for Detroit, which has lost six in a row. Hamidou Diallo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Pistons have gone 2-12 since winning five of their first eight games of 2022.

Trent Jr. drops season-high 42 as Raptors win eighth straight, beating Rockets

Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 42 points, and Toronto pushed its season-high winning streak to eight games with a victory over Houston.

Toronto’s winning streak is the longest active one in the NBA and the loss extended Houston’s skid to four games.

It was Trent’s seventh game with 30 points or more this season and Pascal Siakam added 30 points for his sixth 30-point game. Trent and Siakam both got going early and had 25 and 26 points respectively by halftime as Toronto built a 73-64 lead.

The 42 points were the most for Trent, who made six 3-pointers, since he had a career-high 44 last April against Cleveland.

Kevin Porter Jr. had a season-high 30 points and Garrison Mathews added 19 for the Rockets, who lost for the eighth time in nine games.