Grayson Allen has career high in 3s, Phoenix Suns survive in OT over Bulls

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5/AP) — Grayson Allen had a career-high 8 three-pointers and Bradley Beal scored 13 points in his debut for the Phoenix Suns and they held onto win 116-115over the Bulls in overtime in Chicago on Wednesday night. Jusuf Nurkic had a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds and Kevin Durant added 25 points. The Suns overcame 22 turnovers to get the win.

With a minute left in overtime, Keita Bates-Diop hit a corner three to cut the Bulls’ lead to 115-114. Suns got the ball again and Kevin Durant missed a jumper but Jusuf Nurkic eventually got an offensive rebound and a layup to put the Suns up by one. DeMar DeRozan missed the game-winning pull-up jumper.

Suns had their chances to win the game with two minutes left up by two. Allen blocked Zach LaVine’s lay-up and got a steal on DeRozan. But they were their own worst enemy with two turnovers, which were a Kevin Durant travel and an offensive foul on Jusuf Nurkic. With the Suns up 107-105 with 25 seconds left in regulation, Jusuf Nurkic committed an offensive foul and DeMar DeRozan tied things up with a lay-up, sending the game to overtime.

Beal’s first two shots were three-pointers and he made both of them. But then he missed his next eight shots before hitting another three in the third quarter. He sat out the first seven games of the season because of a back injury. Acquired from Washington in June, the three-time All-Star guard played 23:33. The Suns still await Devin Booker’s return from a calf injury.

Nikola Vucevic scored 26 points for Chicago, which used a pair of gritty comebacks to make it a contest. Zach LaVine and DeRozan each had 22, and Alex Caruso came of the bench to add 19. Caruso, known for his defense, hit four point of five 3-point attempts. Allen scored 17 points in the second half.

Suns were up 88-76 with less than three minutes left in the third quarter but Phoenix kept turning the ball over and that helped a 16-0 for Bulls that put them ahead by three. Grayson Allen stopped the streak with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 92-91 Bulls.

The Suns led 24-6 with 5:52 left in the first quarter but the Bulls battled back, getting within 2 points in the second quarter, 51-59, thanks to a 7-0 run, capped off by a Cody White jumper. Chicago later got their first lead of the night, 53-52, after a put-back from Alex Caruso following a DeMar DeRozan miss. It ended up tied at the half at 57

The Suns return home on Friday to face the Los Angeles Lakers, the team’s first game in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. The Bulls host Detroit on Sunday night.

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