Suns reach 30-win mark; Warriors fall with 2nd straight loss

LOS ANGELES – Phoenix star Chris Paul posted his first triple-double of the season Thursday to power the Suns to a 106-89 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers that boosted their Western Conference lead over the Golden State Warriors.

With Stephen Curry and Draymond Green sidelined by injury, the Warriors fell 101-96 to the Pelicans in New Orleans, the defeat coming on the heels of Wednesday’s setback in Dallas and marking the Warriors’ first back-to-back losses since last season.

Elsewhere, New York topped Boston, 108-105, and Memphis routed Detroit, 118-88.

The Suns became the first team to win 30 games this season, improving to 30-8 and moving one game ahead of the Warriors for the best record in the league.

Paul led the way with his 17th career triple-double, grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds alongside 14 points and 10 assists.

Cameron Johnson added a career-high 24 points, and Jalen Smith chipped in 19 points and 14 rebounds to boost a Suns lineup depleted by Covid-19 concerns.

Paul shrugged off the difficulties of powering through with center Deandre Ayton, forwards Jae Crowder and JaVale McGee all absent as they regain fitness after being sidelined by Covid issues.

“Everybody’s got guys out right now,” Paul said.

Phoenix led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to 79-76 with 8:36 remaining.

“You’ve just got to stay the course,” Paul said after the Suns bore down and pulled away again late to win their third in a row.

“That team right there, they beat a really good Brooklyn team the other night. They play hard, they’re well-coached, they’re going to keep playing all game long. You’ve just got to stay the course.”

That’s something the Warriors couldn’t do without Curry and Green.