The Suns gave the Bulls two straight wins in a 127-124 road win on the road today.
After today's game, the Suns went to 43-10 and continue to lead the West and the league, but the Warriors also won nine straight today and are in hot pursuit. Plus, after today's win over the Bulls, the Suns have a 17-3 record against Eastern Conference teams this season, the best of any Western conference team.
In today's game, both sides had an All-Star backcourt combination, with both teams' starting guards being selected as All-Stars. In this All-Star backcourt showdown, Paul and Booker undoubtedly had the last laugh.
Booker played 37 minutes today and shot 14-of-23, including 5-of-10 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, with 38 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Paul played 34 minutes and had 19 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists on 7-of-11 shooting. Paul and Booker combined had 57 points and 16 assists.
On the Bulls side, the two All-Star guards also performed quite well, combining to get 70 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, but unfortunately it became an empty cut. DeRozan played 35 minutes, shooting 16-of-27, including 0-of-1 three-pointer and 6-of-8 free throws, scoring 38 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. LaVine played 37 minutes and shot 9-of-20, including 4-of-7 from three-point range and 10-of-10 from the free throw line, cutting 32 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.
It is worth mentioning that in the last game against the 76ers, DeRozan only scored 45 points, and embiid also scored 40+10 in this game. Half a month ago, DeRozan also scored 41 points in the middle of the game against the Magic.
The Bulls' record over the past month has been average, with just 7 wins and 11 losses, with a win rate of less than 50%, so they also lost the first place in the East. After today's game, the Bulls are in third place in the East with a record of 33 wins and 21 losses, fortunately they are only 1.5 wins behind the first place in the East, but they are only five-and-a-half wins ahead of the East, and it is easy to move up the ranking and easily down.