NBA: Devin Booker carries Suns to overtime win over Kings
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns goes to the basket in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on March 20, 2022 in Sacramento, California. Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images/AFP
Devin Booker scored 31 points as the visiting Phoenix Suns rallied for their fifth straight win, beating the Sacramento Kings 127-124 in overtime on Sunday.
Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and Landry Shamet added 21 for Phoenix, which trailed by as many as 14 early in the third quarter. JaVale McGee had 14 points while Deandre Ayton had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Article continues after this advertisementLandry Shamet gives Phoenix the lead back!
31.1 left in OT on League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/T5n2ufFhUB
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Rookie Davion Mitchell paced Sacramento with career highs in points (28) and assists (nine). Harrison Barnes scored 21 points while Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 12 rebounds before exiting late in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury.
Booker hit a 19-foot jumper with 8.3 seconds left in regulation to put the Suns ahead 110-108 before Mitchell’s layup tied the game with 2.8 seconds remaining.
Article continues after this advertisementThe teams headed to overtime after Booker’s 3-point attempt missed the mark at the buzzer.
Phoenix took a 123-121 lead in the extra period after Shamet hit one of his five 3-pointers with 31.1 seconds left. Torrey Craig’s dunk with 5.7 seconds left put the Suns ahead 126-122 and sealed the comeback victory.
Donte DiVincenzo and Damian Jones scored 13 points apiece while Trey Lyles added 11 and Justin Holiday had 10 for Sacramento, which has lost three straight and 12 of its last 15.
The Kings opened the contest by scoring seven straight points and carried a 26-22 lead into the second quarter.
Sabonis and Barnes scored 10 points apiece in the first half for Sacramento, which held a 59-49 advantage at the break after shooting 11 of 19 from 3-point range.
Booker scored 10 straight points during a 17-6 run to help the Suns cut the deficit to 77-75 with 3:18 left in the third quarter. He wound up with 19 points in the frame as Phoenix pulled within 87-83 at the start of the final period.
Phoenix finally took its first lead of the game at 89-87 on Shamet’s four-point play with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix played without Chris Paul (right thumb avulsion fracture), Cam Johnson (right quad contusion) and Cameron Payne (non-COVID illness).
Sacramento played without point guard De’Aaron Fox, who missed his second straight game with a right hand injury.
