Devin Booker, Suns hold off late charge to beat Pelicans
Devin Booker scored 32 points, Jalen Green added 25 and the host Phoenix Suns nearly squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before holding off the New Orleans Pelicans 118-116 on Friday.
Oso Ighodaro had 13 points and Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie had 12 apiece for the Suns, who made 20 3-pointers in a season-high 58 attempts.
Booker made five 3-pointers, Gillespie hit four, and Green and Royce O'Neale (11 points) had three apiece.
Trey Murphy III scored 22 points and had four treys, Zion Williamson and Saddiq Bey scored 19 points each and Dejounte Murray added 15 for the Pelicans, who had won five of seven.
The Suns swept the four-game season series and have won five straight against the Pelicans. They had lost seven of 11 games overall.
Booker scored 18 points in the third quarter, when the Suns stretched their lead to 92-78 before the Pelicans closed strong.
Murray hit a 3-pointer with 46.1 seconds remaining to trim Phoenix's lead to 114-111.
Booker missed a contested jumper and fouled Bey, who made two free throws to cap a 14-4 run as the Pelicans got within one at 114-113 with 11.7 seconds left.
Allen made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to make it 116-113. Williamson hit one of two free throws with 8.6 seconds left before Booker followed with two free throws to make it 118-114.
Herb Jones' dunk brought the Pelicans within 118-116 with 5.3 seconds left, and the Suns had trouble inbounding the ball from under their basket but the Pelicans could not contain a loose ball as time expired.
New Orleans finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip.
Murray, who was 5-of-13 from the field, had eight rebounds and five assists in his fifth game back from an Achilles tendon injury. He did not play Thursday in the first game of a back-to-back.
Suns reserve center Khaman Maluach had four points, four rebounds and five blocked shots in a season-high 20 minutes after Ighodaro picked up his fifth foul with 5:52 left in the third quarter and later fouled out.
The Suns started a three-guard lineup of Booker, Green and Gillespie for the third straight game as they played without center Mark Williams (foot) and forward Dillon Brooks (hand).