National Basketball Association
Phoenix 127, Chicago 121
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Where: PHX Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials:
#44 Brett Nansel, #34 Kevin Cutler, #16 David Guthrie
Attendance:
17071
By Field Level Media
Devin Booker scored 41 points, including 33 after halftime, as the Phoenix Suns beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 127-121 on Wednesday.
Kevin Durant added 26 points and Ryan Dunn contributed 16 as Phoenix (33-37) moved past the Dallas Mavericks into 10th position in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both posted 24 points for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 22 off the bench in his return from a three-game absence with an ankle injury.
A blowout loomed when Booker banked a step-back 3-pointer to have the Suns out 117-99, before the Bulls turned up the defensive pressure and fought to the finish line.
White's pull-up 3-pointer capped an 8-0 burst and trimmed Phoenix's lead to 121-117 with 27 seconds remaining.
The two sides traded late buckets before Cody Martin's steal off White led to a Booker lay-up and sealed the victory for Phoenix.
The home side outscored Chicago 26-9 on second-chance points and 23-10 off turnovers.
The tone was set early as Chicago coughed up six first-quarter turnovers, enabling Phoenix to use separate 14-2 and 10-0 runs to march to a 31-22 lead after the opening period.
The Bulls trimmed the margin to 38-35 thanks to a 9-0 burst in the second frame, highlighted by Matas Buzelis' athletic alley-oop slam from a Trey Jones lob and Zach Collins' rejection of Martin's attempted dunk.
But the Suns hit back through Durant and Richards and held sway at 63-51 on Colin Gillespie's coast-to-coast lay-up on the half-time buzzer.
Phoenix was feasting on Chicago turnovers, holding a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers at the half.
Booker and Dunn had the Suns firing after intermission and the margin ballooned to 87-66 on Nick Richards' driving dunk.
White did his best to haul the Bulls back, but Phoenix's 12-3 edge on the boards for the period, including 5-0 on the offensive glass, meant the Suns still led 99-84 with a quarter to play.
Booker piled on Phoenix's first nine points of the fourth frame and finished with 20 for the quarter.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Chicago |
|
Phoenix |
Nikola Vucevic 24 |
Scoring |
Devin Booker 41 |
Tre Jones 9 |
Assists |
Kevin Durant 8 |
Zach Collins 7 |
Rebounds |
Royce O'Neale 10 |
Matas Buzelis 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Devin Booker 7 |
Josh Giddey 2 |
Steals |
Tyus Jones 3 |
Nikola Vucevic 3 |
Blocks |
Nick Richards 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Chicago
|
121 |
54.4 |
15-38 |
8-12 |
29 |
40 |
8 |
7 |
13 |
Phoenix
|
127 |
49.0 |
15-40 |
18-20 |
34 |
46 |
6 |
9 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Phoenix will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Suns have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against Sacramento. The Bulls have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .513 after a loss.