Booker scores season-high 45, Suns beat Bulls 121-116

<p>PHOENIX &mdash; Devin Booker scored a season-high 45 points, Chris Paul added 19 points and 14 assists, and the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 121-116 on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>The Suns built a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Bulls cut that advantage to 94-86 by the start of the fourth. Chicago hung close throughout the final minutes, pulling within three points multiple times. Thaddeus Young’s bucket in the paint brought the Bulls within 115-112 with less than a minute left.</p>
<p>Booker responded with his final bucket — blowing past Nikola Vujecic for a layup — and the Suns won their fourth straight. Chicago’s losing streak is now at five games.</p>
<p>Booker had another All-Star performance in a season full of them, making 17 of 24 shots from the field and 9 of 10 free throws. He was especially effective on mid-range jumpers, finishing time and again over Chicago’s defense.</p>
<p>Phoenix’s Dario Saric had 16 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Chicago was led by Vujecic’s 24 points and 10 rebounds. Young added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Denzel Valentine also scored 19 points.</p>
<p>Booker scored 22 points before the break on 10-of-14 shooting to help the Suns lead 67-58 at halftime. Phoenix made 10 of 18 (55.6%) shots from 3-point range. </p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Bulls: Chicago was without G Zach LaVine (right ankle sprain) and G Coby White (left cervical pain). LaVine is averaging 27.5 points per game while White averages 15. White missed his second straight game. … G Tomas Satoransky played his 100th game with the Bulls. … Chicago closed the month of March with a 4-10 record. … Vucevic was called for a technical foul midway through the fourth quarter. … The Bulls lost despite a 50-32 rebounding advantage.</p>
<p>Suns: F Frank Kaminsky missed his second straight game in the league’s health and safety protocol. … F Abdel Nader was also out with right knee soreness. … Saric had a second straight productive game off the bench. He had 20 points in the team’s win over the Hawks on Tuesday. … Phoenix shot 57% from the field. </p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Bulls: Travel to face the Jazz on Friday night.</p>
<p>Suns: Host the Thunder on Friday night</p>
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