Suns 120, 76ers 111

Devin Booker lost plenty of games in his first five NBA seasons. That's part of what makes these past few weeks even more sweet.

Booker scored 36 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 10 assists and rising Phoenix beat Philadelphia on Saturday for its fifth straight victory.

“It's so nice, man,” Booker said. “We’re deep. I feel like we’re 15 deep. Everyone can play and everyone’s ready to go.”

The Suns have won eight of their past nine games and improved to 16-9. They got a big game from their bench against Philadelphia, especially from Dario Saric, who scored 15 points in his first game back after missing 13 straight.

Saric missed about a month because he was in the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocol and also dealt with a sore ankle.

“Now to be finally back, play with this group of guys who are really talented and positive minded, it’s just a pleasure,” Saric said.

Joel Embiid had 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting for the Sixers, who have lost two in a row but still hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference at 18-9. Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris both added 18 points.

The game was tied 53-all at halftime after a tight second quarter when there were nine lead changes and five ties. Booker took control in the third quarter, when he scored 16 points to give Phoenix an 86-81 lead going into the fourth.

Saric and Jae Crowder each hit 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter and extend the Suns' lead to 92-81. The closest the Sixers would get was 102-97 after Embiid's bucket with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. The Suns had an 11-2 run which gave them a 113-99 lead with 3:15 left to close out the win.

The 76ers' offense wasn't great down the stretch but the real problem was defense. Phoenix shot 60.8% from the field and got 49 points from the bench.

“We know we’re not going to stop teams every possession, teams are going to score, but we’ve got to make it tough,” Simmons said.

Booker has scored 30-plus points in each of the last three games overall and has scored 30-plus in each of his last seven games against Philadelphia. That is the longest streak ever by a Suns player against a single opponent.

“More than anything, Devin will take the wins over stats every time and that’s what I love about him,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “He and I are growing with our relationship and communication. He’s just scratching the surface.”

Saric wasn’t the only Suns reserve who produced. E’Twaun Moore had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, Cam Johnson had nine points and Crowder added eight points and four rebounds. The bench combined to make 19 of its 29 shots.

“Our bench came in and gave us unreal production,” Williams said.

Jazz 112, Heat 94

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points to help Utah beat Miami for its seventh consecutive victory.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points, and Rudy Gobert had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz. Georges Niang chipped in 14 points and a career-high five assists.

NBA-leading Utah improved to 22-5. It has won 18 of 19 games since a 4-4 start.

Kendrick Nunn scored 20 points for Miami. Jimmy Butler added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Pacers 125, Hawks 113

Doug McDermott scored 26 points, Myles Turner had 19 points and 10 rebounds and beat Atlanta for its second straight victory.

Indiana scored 41 points in the final period and used a 27-7 run to take control. quarter. Aaron Holiday was the spark with the outcome on the line, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the fourth.

Clint Capela had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. Trae Young had 15 points and 14 assists but didn’t attempt a 3-pointer for just the second time in his career. The Hawks have lost six of seven.