NBA: Suns nail 22 3-pointers to beat Grizzlies, end series skid

Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Grayson Allen added 19 as the visiting Phoenix Suns ended a six-game losing streak against the Memphis Grizzlies with a 117-98 victory Wednesday night.

Phoenix, winning for the seventh time in nine games, made 22 three-pointers, including five each from Brooks and Allen.

Brooks, who spent his first six NBA seasons with Memphis, had 18 points in the first half. Allen, a former two-season Grizzlies player, was playing his second game after missing nine due to a knee injury.

Devin Booker contributed 13 points and eight assists for the Suns, while Mark Williams finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Grizzlies, playing the second game of a back-to-back, lost for the fifth time in six games. Memphis swept the series last season (4-0) and won the only previous meeting this season in Phoenix.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 19 points, while Cam Spencer, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Javon Small scored 14 points each. Small also added seven assists.

Memphis played its third straight game without guard Ja Morant, sidelined with a right calf injury. Rookie starter Cedric Coward missed his second consecutive game with a left ankle sprain.

The Suns nearly led from start to finish. After Brooks hit a 12-footer to give Phoenix a 10-8 early lead in the first quarter, the Suns never trailed.

Phoenix led 65-47 at halftime and extended the lead to 24 points late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Allen. In the fourth quarter, Collin Gillespie’s three-pointer pushed the lead to 26 points at 94-68.

The Suns’ second-quarter surge included a 10-2 closing run, with Brooks and Booker scoring the final 12 points of the half, including a buzzer-beating shot from Booker.

—Field Level Media/Reuters