Phoenix Suns stun league-leading Milwaukee Bucks

Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Devin Booker scored 22 points, as the lowly Phoenix Suns pulled off a stunning 114-105 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

Deandre Ayton registered 19 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Josh Jackson scored 16 for Phoenix (14-51). The Suns have won three of four since enduring a franchise-worst, 17-game losing streak.

Tyler Johnson had 13 points and four steals and also knocked down the tiebreaking basket for the Suns, who outscored Milwaukee 38-23 in the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals for the NBA-best Bucks (48-16). Milwaukee have lost two straight after winning 19 of the previous 21 games.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points, Eric Bledsoe added 15, Nikola Mirotic had 13, Ersan Ilyasova tallied 11 and Brook Lopez and Tony Snell added 10 apiece for Milwaukee.

Recently signed Pau Gasol played five scoreless minutes in his Bucks debut.

Johnson’s basket with 1:06 left gave Phoenix a 105-103 lead. Ayton scored on a layup with 35.8 seconds remaining to make it a four-point margin.

Mikal Bridges sank two free throws with 24.1 seconds left to increase the lead to 109-103, and Milwaukee was unable to get closer to four the rest of the way.

Phoenix shot 45.1 per cent from the field and hit 7 of 22 attempts from 3-point range.

The Bucks shot just 36.8 per cent from the field and were 12 of 42 from behind the arc. Milwaukee All-Star Khris Middleton sank only 1 of 13 shots while scoring six points.

The Bucks led 91-81 after Bledsoe split two free throws with 8:52 left.

Phoenix made a charge and later used a 9-0 run to take the lead.

Ayton converted a three-point play, Bridges knocked down a 16-footer, and Oubre split two free throws with 4:03 left to pull the Suns within one. Booker concluded the spurt with a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 100-98 advantage with 2:37 left.

Antetokounmpo’s dunk 16 seconds later tied the score. Oubre drained a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 103-100 lead with two minutes left before Brogdon hit a tying 3-pointer with 1:21 left.

Milwaukee held a 40-24 lead after Lopez drained a 3-pointer with 8:32 remaining in the first half.

The Bucks still led by 12 after Antetokounmpo’s basket with 1:39 left in the half before Phoenix rattled off the next 10 to trail 54-52 at the break.

Spurs 104, Nuggets 103

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points as San Antonio outlasted visiting Denver to capture their third straight victory.

San Antonio led by 21 points in the second quarter and by 17 with 9:10 to go in the game, but Denver got within one point when Jamal Murray canned a 3-pointer with 49.6 seconds left. The Nuggets then missed four shots at a win in the remaining time.

Murray scored 25 points, and Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, who have lost three games in a row.

Pelicans 115, Jazz 112

Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle each scored 30 points to lead New Orleans to a 115-112 come-from-behind victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.

Anthony Davis totalled 15 points and 11 rebounds in only three quarters for the Pelicans, who won their third straight. Davis did not play the entire fourth quarter. The Jazz led by 17 points in the second quarter and by 14 early in the fourth.

Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver totalled 20 points apiece off the bench to lead Utah. Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and collected 19 rebounds, and Donovan Mitchell added 19 points with nine assists.

Clippers 113, Lakers 105

Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points, and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for their third consecutive victory.

Lou Williams scored 21 points off the bench, and Montrezl Harrell added 14 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role for the Clippers.

Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 24 points to go with 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his first triple-double with the Lakers. LeBron James finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Kings 115, Knicks 108

Harry Giles III contributed a dunk and a hook shot to an eight-point run that opened the fourth quarter, and Sacramento finally were able to pull away from visiting New York.

Buddy Hield had 28 points and Harrison Barnes contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who had lost three in a row, including two straight to begin a key four-game homestand.

Knicks rookie Allonzo Trier led all scorers with 29 points.

Heat 114, Hawks 113

Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as host Miami won consecutive games for the first time since January, defeating Atlanta.

Josh Richardson added 19 points, and Justise Winslow added 18 for Miami, who finally beat Atlanta after losing the first three games of this season’s four-game series. The Hawks fell just short of what would have been their first 4-0 sweep of Miami since 1990-91.

Vince Carter, 42, led Atlanta with 21 points and made a season-high seven 3-pointers. Carter surpassed Jamal Crawford for sixth place in NBA history in terms of career 3-pointers, ending the night with 2,199. Crawford has 2,195 treys. Carter also surpassed Reggie Miller (25,279 points) for 20th place in scoring, winding up with 25,292 points.

Nets 127, Mavericks 88

DeMarre Carroll matched a season high with 22 points as Brooklyn coasted to a victory over Dallas in New York.

Rodions Kurucs added 19 points and became the third rookie in Nets franchise history to hit at least five 3-pointers in a game, going 5 of 7 from long range. D’Angelo Russell collected 13 points and 11 assists as the Nets posted their most lopsided win since moving from New Jersey in 2012.

Dwight Powell paced Dallas with 20 points, and rookie Luca Doncic added 16.