NBA: Gary Trent Jr. scores 42, Raptors down Suns
Gary Trent Jr. #33 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors celebrate after defeating the Phoenix Suns 117-112 at Footprint Center on March 11, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. Kelsey Grant/Getty Images/AFP
Gary Trent Jr. matched his season-best with 42 points, hitting eight 3-pointers, and the visiting Toronto Raptors withstood a comeback by the Phoenix Suns for a 117-112 win Friday night.
Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who won their second in a row. Toronto’s Scottie Barnes had 15 points, Fred VanVleet finished with 10 and Precious Achiuwa contributed 11.
Make that 3️⃣1️⃣ for @gtrentjr pic.twitter.com/DzjZHIzAYd
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 12, 2022
Cameron Payne scored 24 points for the Suns, who fell to 5-4 since losing Chris Paul to a broken thumb. Devin Booker added 22 points and seven assists, Mikal Bridges had 18 points, Deandre Ayton contributed 16 points and Jae Crowder put up 13 points.
Toronto used a 40-30 third quarter to extend its lead to 14 points. Phoenix scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to six.
Bismack Biyombo’s block set up a jumper by Bridges to cut the lead to two with 5:14 remaining. Biyombo’s put-back tied the game with 4:36 to go.
Trent was called for a flagrant-1 foul with 4:13 left. Payne made 1 of 2 free throws and Bridges sank a 10-footer for a three-point Phoenix lead. Trent tied the game with a 3-pointer before Ayton made a 14-footer for a two-point Suns lead with 3:19 to go.
Trent made two free throws to tie the contest with 2:28 to play.
Toronto took a four-point lead thanks to a Khem Birch tip-in and then a steal and a layup by Barnes with 1:43 left. Siakam followed with a steal and a dunk for a six-point lead 10 seconds later.
spin cycle on HIGH 🌪 @pskills43 pic.twitter.com/Fo8uK5OqVx
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 12, 2022
Booker’s 3-pointer trimmed the gap to one with 52.2 seconds left. Trent made two free throws with 17.5 seconds left.
After Booker missed a long 3-point attempt, Trent sealed the victory by hitting two foul shots.
Toronto led 30-24 after one quarter but Phoenix got within 56-52 at halftime. Trent had 18 points before the break while Payne paced the Suns with 15.
