Booker and Paul's brilliance halted the New York Knicks' winning streak

 Devin Booker denied the New York Knicks a full mark in ten consecutive games, when he halted his winning streak by scoring 33 points to lead his Phoenix Suns back from afar with their 118-110 NBA win in NBA.

And at "Madison Square Garden", the Suns returned to win the match after trailing by 15 points in the first half, beating the resplendent Knicks 31-23 in the last quarter and securing an eight-point victory.

Besides Booker, Michael Bridges scored 21 points for Phoenix, while veteran Chris Paul scored 20 points, the majority of them at the end of the match, to help the Suns get closer to fortifying his seat in the playoffs.

Consequently, the Suns consolidated their results record with this win to 43 versus 18 defeats, and maintained their second place in the Western District standings, behind leaders Utah Jazz, who suffered a surprising loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"We knew it was going to be a fierce battle from start to finish," Booker said after the match. "Obviously their streak is great. But we wanted to come here and show them what we have."

The Knicks had narrowed the gap to four points less than two minutes before the end of the match, but eight quick points from Paul, including a three-way basket, ensured the Suns victory.

"He's been here before," Booker said of Paul's points at the end of the game. "The experience is the biggest proof. We've seen what this guy can do for 16 years, it wasn't surprising to anyone."

Derek Rose scored 22 points for Knicks, while Julius Randall finished the match with 18 points, in addition to 17 points for RG Barrett and Reggie Bullock.

The shock of the day was in Minneapolis, where Di Angelo Russell's basket helped 4.2 seconds before the match, the Timberwolves beat Utah 105-104.

Russell ended the match with 27 points, in a match in which Utah missed Donovan Mitchell and suffered a bitter defeat by the second-worst record in the Western Region with 44 losses in 14th place.

Meanwhile, another streak of victories was halted in New Orleans, as Pelicans braked the Los Angeles Clippers after winning four games in a row, dropping him 120-103.

Zion Williamson topped the Pelicans scorers list with 23 points, while Eric Bledso and Lonzo Paul each scored 18 points.

                  

Auspicious return of the Lakers

In Washington, Bradley Bell's 45 points were not enough to prevent the San Antonio Spurs from halting the Washington Wizards' eight-game winning streak, with a 146-143 victory over the extension.

Bill missed a three-point throw at the end of game time and failed to impose a draw, while Russell Westbrook scored a "Triple Double" with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in favor of the Washington Wizards, but without preventing a loss.

For his part, Demar DeRozan led Spears with 37 points and 10 assists, while Digaonte Murray added 25 points, and Kildon Johnson 21.

Spears boosted his record to 31 wins compared to 29 losses, while Washington slipped to 27 wins and 34 losses.

In another match, Anthony Davis contributed to a happy comeback for the Los Angeles Lakers, with a 114-103 win over the Orlando Magic.

Davis, who is working to recover from a long absence due to injury, scored 18 points in the game that the Lakers played in Orlando for the first time since winning the League Finals last season.

"The last time we were here, good things happened. I'm happy to be back here and for another good thing to happen with the win," Davis said.

The Lakers went to great lengths to win the match, trailing a disastrous 40-22 in the second quarter, but managed to turn the tables in the third quarter.

Denise Schroeder played a part in this win, scoring 13 of his 21 points in the final quarter of the match.

"We had to get back to what we were doing, helping each other, trusting each other, and we did that in the second half," Davis said.

He added, "We just have to continue to stay together and carry on with this soul in the qualifiers."