Ayton scores 26, Suns beat Kings for 10th straight home win

<p>PHOENIX &mdash; Deandre Ayton had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Devin Booker added 23 points and the Phoenix Suns won their 10th straight home game by beating the Sacramento Kings 122-114 on Thursday night.</p>
<p>The Suns haven’t lost in their home arena for nearly a month, but struggled to put away the Kings for much of the night, taking a 95-94 lead into the fourth quarter. Sacramento took its first lead of the second half when Delon Wright made a layup to make it 96-95.</p>
<p>The game remained close throughout the fourth but the Suns slowly pushed ahead and Booker threw a long alley-oop pass to Ayton for a dunk with 4:38 left that made it 110-104. Ayton muscled his way to another bucket a few possessions later to push the Phoenix up 112-104.</p>
<p>It was another good game for Ayton, who has found his niche playing alongside the All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Booker. Paul finished with 13 points and 11 assists.</p>
<p>The Suns improved to 40-15 for the season, hitting 40 wins for the first time since 2014. The Kings have lost nine straight.</p>
<p>Sacramento was led by De’Aaron Fox, who scored 27. Buddy Hield added 24 and Wright had 16 off the bench.</p>
<p>Jevon Carter made his first three shots off the bench, including two 3-pointers, to give the Suns a lift early in the second quarter. His second 3 gave Phoenix a 45-33 advantage with 9:30 left before halftime.</p>
<p>But the Kings cut into the deficit quickly and Wright made a 3 with 1:15 left that tied the game at 65. The Suns took a 67-65 lead into halftime after Booker made a 17-foot jumper.</p>
<p>Both teams shot the ball well in the first half. Phoenix was 25 of 40 (63%) from the field, including 11 of 21 from 3-point range (52%). The Kings weren’t far behind, shooting 24 of 42 (57%) and 10 of 18 (56%) from long range.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Kings: F Marvin Bagley III (hand fracture) and F Richaun Holmes (right hamstring strain) didn’t play. </p>
<p>Suns: Paul needs 16 assists to pass Magic Johnson (10,141) for No. 4 on the all-time list. … F Abdel Nader missed his 14th straight game because of right knee soreness. … Carter finished with 13 points in 17 minutes, leading a bench that scored 42.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Kings: Travel to face the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.</p>
<p>Suns: Wrap up a five-game homestand vs. the Spurs on Saturday.</p>
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