Devin Booker scored 30 points, and Chris Paul 22 points, to lead the Suns to victory over the helpless Nets against Phoenix's intelligent and fluid team play in both attack and defense.

After this important victory against the leaders of the Eastern Conference, the 16th in a row, the Suns (2nd in the West) are on the way to equal the franchise record for consecutive wins, 17.

It was in 2006-2007, at a time when Steve Nash was making the heyday of the Phoenix franchise, he who is now the coach of the ... Nets.

"This team is very balanced, has depth and options, and it is very well coached," he said of the Suns, who, with 17 wins and 3 losses, achieve their best start of the season since 2004.

They will try to match their record of 17 straight wins against the Golden State Warriors, first in the Western Conference, in a game that will see the two best performing teams in the NBA face off.

Kevin Durant (37 pts) certainly allowed Brooklyn to reduce the score, the gap having reached 22 points during the meeting, but this did not mask the shortcomings of the Nets, very imprecise like James Harden, who despite a triple-double (12 pts, 13 rebounds, 14 assists), missed his 6 attempts at 3 points and lost the ball 7 times, being whistled by the Barclays Center.

For the record, Chris Paul also offered 8 assists and took 5 rebounds, becoming the first NBA player to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 assists and 5,000 rebounds.

The Heat present, Washington ensures

Always first in the East, Brooklyn saw its two pursuers in the standings, Chicago and Miami, face off against each other, the Heat gaining the upper hand over the uninspired Bulls (22 ball losses, the worst mark of the season).

Chicago Bulls N.8 Zach LaVine against the Miami Heat at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, November 27, 2021. JONATHAN DANIEL GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

With this victory (107-104), the Heat of Jimmy Butler (18 pts) takes second place in the East, the Bulls being demoted to 4th place.

The Washington Wizards took the opportunity to settle in 3rd place, after their victory over the Mavericks (120-114), thanks to Bradley Beal (26 pts) and Kyle Kuzma (22 pts).

For Dallas, Luka Doncic signed a double-double with 33 points and 10 assists.

In Philadelphia, despite the return of their pivot star Joel Embiid (42 pts, 14 rebounds) and Tobias Harris, the Sixers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves (120-121), in a breathtaking end to the game, with two overtime.

As for the Knicks, without Kemba Walker, put to rest, and still deprived of Derrick Rose (right ankle), they beat the Hawks (90-99), who lost to injury Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Reddish.

Both players will have MRI scans to assess the severity of their injury.

The "Frenchies" of the evening

In this meeting, Evan Fournier scored 20 points for the Knicks, in addition to 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 interception.

For the Hawks, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 3 points and took 2 rebounds.

Rudy Gobert scored 6 points, took 8 rebounds, offered 1 assist and scored 2 blocks, while Utah Jazz took revenge on the Pelicans (127-107), after a defeat the day before against the franchise of La New Orleans (97-98).

Frenchman Evan Fournier, back of the New York Knicks, rebounds against the Phoenix Suns during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 26, 2021. ELSA GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Finally, Frank Ntilikina (calf) did not play with the Dallas Mavericks, while Joël Ayayi was not on the scoresheet with the Wizards.

© 2021 AFP