NBA: Balanced attack powers Suns past Hornets

Devin Booker racked up 21 points to guide the Phoenix Suns’ balanced attack in a 107-96 victory against the host Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Grayson Allen had 17 points, Bradley Beal posted 15 points, Eric Gordon provided 14 points off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Durant both finished with 13 points for Phoenix (39-28).

Nurkic’s 21 rebounds helped the Suns to a 57-48 advantage on the boards, aiding the team’s bounce-back performance after a loss a night earlier at Boston.

Vasilije Micic’s 21 points and Grant Williams’ 20 points led the Hornets (17-50), who’ve lost eight of their last 10 games. Miles Bridges notched 17 points and 10 rebounds, Brandon Miller had 14 points and Tre Mann added 12 points.

The Hornets charged back from 25 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to within 94-84 with 6:43, reflecting a 17-2 run that was halted by Allen’s 3-point basket.

Charlotte went 3 1/2 minutes down the stretch without a field goal as its comeback stalled, with the Suns stretching the margin out to 16 points by the three-minute mark.

The Hornets were unable to overcome 4-for-29 3-point shooting through three quarters. They ended up 6-for-37 from long range.

Overall, Charlotte shot 37.2 percent from the field. The Hornets committed only five turnovers but failed to capitalize on the ball security.

Gordon had four of the Suns’ 11 baskets from 3-point range as Phoenix was only 28.9 percent on 3s (11 of 38). The Suns shot 46 percent from the floor.

Despite a 64-52 lead more than three minutes into the second half, no Phoenix starter had reached double figures. The Suns had four starters with nine points and another with eight until Durant’s 3-pointer on the next possession put him atop the scoring chart at the time.

A 3-pointer from Gordon shoved the margin to 75-58.

Phoenix held a 54-45 halftime lead, aided by Nurkic grabbing 12 rebounds in the first half alone.

–Field Level Media/ Reuters