PHOENIX – Deandre Ayton scored a season-high 28 points and had 12 rebounds, Devin Booker added 21 points and the Phoenix Suns stayed on top of the Western Conference with a 108-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The Suns have won three straight games and four of five.
The Suns led 84-79 going into the fourth quarter. They pushed it to 94-85 by midway through the fourth, but the feisty Pistons scored the next eight points.
Ayton’s putback slam on Booker’s missed layup gave the Suns a 102-97 advantage with 1:34 left. Ayton shot 11-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 on free throws. Cameron Payne added 16 points and 10 assists.
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Bojan Bogdanovic had 19 points for Detroit, and Killian Hayes added 17.
The Pistons came into the game with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, but had won two straight road games, at Denver and at Utah.
Detroit played well again Friday, taking a 54-53 halftime lead. Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 15 points in the first half while Booker had 13 for the Suns. Phoenix shot just 3-for-17 (16.7%) from 3-point range before the break.
BOGDANOVIC HURT
Bogdanovic fell to the floor with about 25 seconds in the game, clutching at his right knee after Phoenix’s Torrey Craig stepped on his foot.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey was furious that a foul wasn’t called, continuing to argue with officials even as the game ended. When Bogdanovic was down on the floor, Suns forward Mikal Bridges grabbed the loose ball and made a jumper to push Phoenix’s lead back to six points.
TIP-INS
Pistons: G Jaden Ivey (right knee soreness), G Cory Joseph (non-COVID illness) and G/F Saddiq Bey (right ankle sprain) were inactive.
Suns: G Chris Paul (sore right heel) missed his seventh straight game. … G Landry Shamet (concussion) hopes to return soon, possibly as early as Saturday’s game against the Jazz. … Made just one of their first 15 3-point attempts. … Bridges missed his first nine shots before making a 3-pointer early in the third quarter. … Hosted their 37th consecutive sellout crowd.