Los Angeles (AFP)
The Phoenix Suns finished top of the regular season in the NBA, by beating the Denver Nuggets 140-130.
The Suns owes its 67th consecutive victory of the season against 14 defeats to Devin Booker, who rained the Nuggets basket with 49 points, in a meeting in which his fellow veteran playmaker Chris Paul participated after an absence of five weeks due to injury.
And about his team’s ability to take the lead in the season and the western region and the attendant advantage of the stadium during the playoffs, Booker said: It is a beautiful feeling. It was a very intense match. We wanted it, we wanted our 60th win tonight and we got it.
Booker succeeded in 16 of his 25 attempts, including 15 out of 17 free throws, in addition to achieving 10 assists, to contribute, with the help of Michael Bridges (22 points), to enhance the Suns record away from home with 30 wins out of 36 games.
Chris Paul participated for thirty minutes and scored 17 points with 13 assists and 4 rebounds, and played a decisive role in frustrating the Nuggets’ resolve, by scoring four free throws in the last seconds of the match.
Paul has been absent from the team since suffering a right hand injury during the victory over the Houston Rockets on February 16, and the team suffered four defeats in 15 games in his absence.
Despite 28 points from Serbian star Nikola Jokic, Nuggets suffered his 31st defeat to 43 wins, but he remained sixth in the Western Region standings, a match ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With a sweeping victory over the Indiana Pacers 133-103, the Memphis Grizzlies became the second team from the Western Region after the Suns to settle their ticket to the “Playoff”, by achieving the fifty-first victory in 73 games.
In other games, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks beat the Washington Wizards 114-102, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Chicago Bulls 126-109, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Houston Rockets 117-104.