PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker had 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Phoenix Suns used a dominant third quarter beat the Portland Trail Blazers 103-97 Saturday night.
Kevin Durant scored 21 points for Phoenix, which won its fourth in a row.
The Suns led by as many as 26 points, but the Trail Blazers cut the deficit to 99-97 in the final minute. Booker and Tyus Jones each made two free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the win.
Grayson Allen scored 18 off the bench, making a team-high four 3-pointers. Jones and Bradley Beal each finished with 15 points, while Jusuf Nurkic had a game-high 15 rebounds.
Trailing 47-43 at halftime, Phoenix scored 44 in the third quarter to take a 22-point lead by the end of the period. The Suns had zero turnovers in the third quarter after committing nine in the first half.
Booker and Allen each had 10 points in the third quarter, while Portland only managed 18 points in the period.
Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant led the Trail Blazers with 20 points apiece. Deni Avdija scored 13 points and former Sun Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Trail Blazers: Simons missed his first six shots but hit 8 of 25 for the game, including a team-high four 3-pointers.
Suns: Beal returned after missing two of the last three games with a sprained left elbow and played 34 minutes. He had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Jones’ 25-footer gave the Suns a 57-54 lead and ignited a 26-4 Phoenix run in the third quarter.
After shooting 27% from the field in the first half, Phoenix made 61% of its third-quarter shot attempts, including 50% (9 of 18) from 3-point range.
Portland is at New Orleans Monday, the same day the Suns host the 76ers.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) drives against Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates after scoring against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) drives between Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones (21) and center Jusuf Nurkic (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after scoring against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
COOPERSTOWN, N,Y. (AP) — Dick Allen, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant are among eight men on the ballot for the baseball Hall of Fame’s classic era committee that meets Dec. 8 at the winter meetings in Dallas.
Tommy John, Steve Garvey and Ken Boyer are also on the ballot along with former Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris, the Hall said Monday. The classic era committee considers players, managers, umpires and executives whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.
The identities of the 16 voters will be announced closer to the meeting, and 75% of the vote is needed for election. Anyone chosen will be inducted into the Hall next July 27 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 21.
Parker, John and Garvey are the living candidates. Tiant died on Oct. 8 at age 83.
Allen hit .292 with 351 homers and 1,119 RBIs from 1963-77. A seven-time All-Star, he was voted the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP.
Parker, 73, hit .290 with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs from 1973-91. He was the 1978 NL MVP, won the 1977 and ’78 NL batting titles and was a seven-time All-Star.
Tiant was a four-time 20-game winner who went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA from 1964-82. He was a three-time All-Star who won two AL ERA titles.
John, 81, was 288-231 with a 3.34 ERA over 26 seasons from 1963-89, becoming a four-time All-Star. He was a pioneer patient in elbow ligament-replacement surgery in 1974 by Dr. Frank Jobe, which became known as Tommy John surgery.
Garvey, 75, hit .294 with 272 homers, 1,308 RBIs from 1969-87, was the 1974 NL MVP and helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 title. He played an NL record 1,207 consecutive games at first base.
Boyer was an 11-time All-Star who batted .287 with 282 homers and 1,141 RBIs from 1955-69. He was the 1964 NL MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series champions.
Donaldson pitched in the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues for more than 30 years.
Harris played 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues, mostly as a Homestead Grays outfielder, and managed the team for 11 seasons, winning seven Negro National League pennants and the 1948 World Series.
The Hall in 2022 restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee meets every three years, starting with contemporary players in December 2022, when Fred McGriff was elected, and followed by contemporary managers, executives and umpires last December, when Jim Leyland was voted in. Contemporary players will be considered again in December 2025.
The ballot was picked by a historical overview committee that included Adrian Burgos of the University of Illinois, Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network, Steve Hirdt of Stats Perform, David O’Brien of The Athletic, BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Mark Whicker of the Southern California News Group along with Jim Henneman (formerly of The Sun in Baltimore), Jim Reeves (formerly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle).
Allen received 11 votes from the 2014 golden era committee, falling one short of the 75% needed for election. Donaldson got eight votes from the 2021 early baseball era committee, which considered pre-1950 candidates.
Parker got seven votes from the 2019 modern era committee, which considered candidates from 1970-87, Garvey six and John three or fewer. Garvey, John, Parker and Tiant all received fewer than seven votes from the 2016 modern era committee.
Boyer and Pierce got fewer than three in 2014, and Garvey, John and Parker fewer than six from the 2013 expansion era committee. Boyer and Tiant received fewer than three from the 2011 golden era committee.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Félix Hernández are among the players eligible for the BBWAA ballot for the first time in the upcoming vote. Holdovers include Billy Wagner, who was five votes shy last January.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Member of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Championship team Dave Parker tips his hat at the fans during a pre-game ceremony honoring the team before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Former Philadelphia Phillies player Dick Allen reacts after a ceremony unveiling his retired number prior to a baseball game between the Phillies and the Washington Nationals in Philadelphia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
