Reserve Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Devin Booker added 22 points as the Phoenix Suns sent the host Miami Heat to their seventh straight loss, a 118-105 defeat on Monday night.
It’s the Heat’s longest losing streak since dropping 15 straight games in the 2007-08 season. This is also the longest losing streak in the career of coach Erik Spoelstra.
Kevin Durant chipped in 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Bradley Beal added 19 points and seven assists for the Suns.
Booker, who averaged 53 points in his two previous games, got off to a slow start. He scored just eight points in the first half before playing better after the break.
Miami was led by Jimmy Butler, who had a game-high 26 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Terry Rozier added 21 points, and Tyler Herro scored 17.
Heat center Bam Adebayo was held to eight points on 3-for-9 shooting from the floor. However, he had a team-high five assists along with game highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (three).
Grayson Allen of Phoenix sprained his right ankle in the second quarter and scored just three points. Miami’s Duncan Robinson felt ill and did not play after the first quarter. He went scoreless in four minutes.
Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, who missed the Suns’ previous game due to a sprained left thumb, returned and posted six points and eight rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix held a 33-25 lead after the first quarter and was led by Drew Eubanks, who scored all 11 of his points on 5-for-5 shooting in the frame. Phoenix shot 50 percent and had zero turnovers in an efficient opening period. Miami shot 38.1 percent and had five turnovers.
The Suns led 62-49 at the break, and it was the eighth straight game that Miami trailed at halftime.
Booker scored 12 points in the third quarter as Phoenix extended its advantage to 100-74.
Miami went on a 13-0 run that bridged the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, cutting its deficit to 100-85. But a Durant 3-pointer with 9:03 left in the game ended that streak, and the Suns cruised from there.
For the game, Phoenix shot 48.9 percent from the floor and had a 46-32 edge in paint points. Miami shot just 39.3 percent.
–Field Level Media
