Los Angeles: The NBA-leading Phoenix Suns and Western Conference rivals Golden State tumbled Sunday as Joel Embiid and James Harden signaled the Philadelphia 76ers are a force to be reckoned with in the East.
The surging Utah Jazz, fueled by 26 points from Donovan Mitchell, downed the Suns 118-114 to post their eighth victory in nine games.
Utah’s Rudy Gobert returned after missing six games with a sore right knee and non-Covid illness, scoring 16 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. That included a season-high eight offensive rebounds.
The Suns, who still own the best record in the NBA at 49-12, lost back-to-back games for the first time since dropping two on December 25 and 27.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 30 points. Cameron Johnson and Deandre Ayton added 23 apiece but Phoenix is clearly still finding their way in their third game since losing All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a broken thumb that could sideline him the rest of the regular season.
The Golden State Warriors, chasing the Suns for the top spot in the West, could not capitalize, surrendering a 21-point third-quarter lead in a 107-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in San Francisco.
On the eve of his 23rd birthday, Luka Doncic scored 34 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Dallas, connecting on a pair of key baskets down the stretch and draining the clinching free throws in the waning seconds.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points with four rebounds and five assists off the bench for Dallas, playing a key role in the fourth-quarter surge that overwhelmed the Warriors.