Devin Booker Erupts for 35 as Suns Beat Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Nets

Make it 11 games in a row for the Phoenix Suns.

The NBA’s hottest team just kept on rolling Tuesday night, beating the Brooklyn Nets 121-111 behind the star backcourt of Devin Booker and Chris Paul.

Phoenix now has winning streaks of 17 and 11 games this season. Since the start of January, the team is 14-1. They have the best record (41-9) in basketball.

And the Suns got good news Tuesday to go along with the win, as center Deandre Ayton returned to the court for the first time since Jan. 16 after suffering a right ankle sprain.

The Nets (29-21), meanwhile, lost their fifth straight game and were yet again without Kevin Durant, who is dealing with a sprained left MCL. James Harden did return for Brooklyn, however, after missing the past two games.

And Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes added to the team’s misery, reporting during the game that a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams told him there were no plans to change the COVID-19 vaccine mandate that has forced Irving to sit out the team’s home games given his unvaccinated status:

If that mandate stretches into the playoffs, Irving will be a part-time player for the Nets. More bad news for a Brooklyn team reeling at the moment.

Key Stats

Devin Booker, PHX: 35 points, six rebounds

Chris Paul, PHX: 20 points, 14 assists

Mikal Bridges, PHX: 27 points, eight rebounds

James Harden, BRK: 22 points, 10 assists

Kyrie Irving, BRK: 26 points

Blake Griffin, BRK: 17 points, six rebounds

Devin Booker Was on One

When you’re hot, these are the shots you hit:

And Booker is hot.

He averaged 28.2 points per game in January. In the team’s current winning streak, he’s scored 30 or more points six times and exceeded 40 points twice. The man is cooking.

James Harden Was a Bit Rusty

Harden was still up to his normal playmaking ways, but shooting 6-of-19 from the field (31.5 percent) and committing four turnovers wasn’t exactly ideal.

Maybe against some teams, the Nets could survive a ho-hum game from Harden, even without Durant. Against these Suns, though, it was never going to cut it.

Generally speaking, the Nets have to take advantage of Irving’s road appearances. It’s hard to remember a team that has less of a home-court advantage than Brooklyn, with Irving having to sit out those games. That means the team has to steal some wins on the road.

With Harden struggling from the field, however, that wasn’t going to happen Tuesday against the scorching Suns.

What’s Next?

The Nets have a back-to-back and travel to Sacramento to face the Kings on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. The Suns travel to Atlanta to face Trae Young and the Hawks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT).