Devin Booker scored 27 points and dished seven assists while leading the Phoenix Suns to a 129-114 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Phoenix sank a season-high 24 3-pointers (on 51 attempts) to begin its six-game road trip with a third consecutive victory. Jalen Green added 25 points while Royce O’Neale scored 21 and Collin Gillespie compiled 12 points, nine boards and nine assists.
Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 33 points and shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range, but the Bucks took their sixth loss in seven contests. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner each added 22 points, and Ousmane Dieng logged 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The contest was an offensive shootout early on with both teams knocking down a high percentage of shots. Phoenix started on a 7-0 run, but neither team led by more than seven points in the first half.
Both teams made nine 3-pointers before the break while shooting higher than 52% from the floor. Milwaukee committed nine turnovers to Phoenix’ six, though the Bucks were narrowly winning the rebound battle en route to a 65-62 halftime lead thanks to a Kuzma 3-pointer at the horn.
The halftime break did nothing to slow down either side. Kuzma exploded for Milwaukee in the third with three straight 3-pointers and 16 points. However, O’Neale was even better with 18 as the Suns won the quarter 38-32 and led by three going into the fourth.
That is where things fell apart for the Bucks. The Suns continued to apply pressure on the offensive end and knock down 3-pointers, making 6 of 12 from long range. The Bucks shot just 1-for-9 from deep in the fourth and scored just 17 points and Phoenix pulled away.
Milwaukee shot well from deep until the final frame, winding up 16-for-38.
Prior to Tuesday, Milwaukee had won seven consecutive home games against Phoenix dating back to 2021, including the 2021 NBA Finals.
