Grayson Allen scored 26 points while nailing a career-high eight 3-pointers and Kevin Durant added 25 points to lift the visiting Phoenix Suns to a 116-115 overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Jusuf Nurkic scored the go-ahead layup off a screen-and-roll pass from Durant with 7.3 seconds left in OT and finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.
Nurkic missed two free throws with 0.4 seconds to go, but the Bulls’ backdoor lob attempt on their final possession was unsuccessful.
The Bulls lost for the fourth time in five games despite producing five scorers in double figures, led by Nikola Vucevic (26 points) and Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan (22 apiece). DeRozan’s layup tied the game at 107 with 15.7 seconds to play in regulation.
Alex Caruso scored 19 points for the Bulls, and Coby White added 11.
Making his regular-season debut for the Suns after dealing with back spasms during the preseason, Bradley Beal contributed 13 points. Beal started 2-for-3 from the floor before missing six straight attempts. His night featured three 3-pointers, as Phoenix finished 19-for-48 from beyond the arc.
Vucevic hit a trey to put Chicago ahead 110-109 with 3:09 left in overtime. Caruso padded the Bulls’ lead when he banked in a 3-pointer with 2:27 to go.
A 3-pointer by Keita Bates-Diop with 1:06 left drew Phoenix within 115-114.
Durant added nine assists and six rebounds. LaVine had eight assists and eight rebounds for the Bulls.
Chicago trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter and was facing a double-digit deficit late in the third quarter, but a 16-0 run helped turn the tide.
Ball movement and transition defense fueled the spurt, and contributions came from throughout the roster. A steal and fast-break dunk from reserve center Andre Drummond gave Chicago an 89-88 advantage with 11:14 remaining in the game. The Bulls extended their lead to four on a 3-pointer by Jevon Carter 30 seconds later.
Despite playing without Devin Booker (right calf strain) for the third straight game, Phoenix has beaten the Bulls eight straight times.
–Field Level Media
