Suns outlast Jazz in battle of West heavyweights
MANILA, Philippines – The Phoenix Suns squeaked past league-leaders Utah Jazz in overtime, 117-113, in a showdown of Western Conference leaders at Phoenix on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).
Both squads went back-and-forth in a match that lived up to the expectation.
But it would be two free throws late in the extra period from Paul that would ice the game for Phoenix to make it a two-possession game with 7.8 ticks left.
The Sun held a six-point lead, 114-108, with a minute left in overtime after a 3-pointer by Paul.
However, back-to-back baskets by Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley put the Jazz within two, 112-114.
With the clock going against them, Utah was forced into the fouling and while a miss from the line by Devin Booker left the door ajar for the Jazz, a split trip from the charity stripe for Mitchell buried the Jazz deeper as the clock ran out.
This sent the Jazz to back-to-back losses, after losing to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).
Booker top-scored for the Suns with 35 points while Paul dropped 29.
Mitchell had a 41-point effort in the loss for Utah while Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson chipped in 11 off of the bench.
Elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 141-137, despite a 32-point and 12-rebound performance from Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Washington Wizards, for their part, leaned a triple-double by Russell Westbrook to a pull off a 131-116 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Westbrook tallied 23 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists in the win.
In other games, the Houston Rockets arrested a five-game skid when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 102-93.
The Memphis Grizzlies, meanwhile, beat the Atlanta Hawks, 131-113.
The Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets also registered wins.
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