MILWAUKEE (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points, Jalen Green had 25 and Royce O'Neale 21 as the Phoenix Suns pulled away in the fourth quarter to win a 129-114 shootout with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Phoenix shot 53.9% and made a season-high 24 3-pointers on 51 attempts. Milwaukee shot 51.2% and went 16 of 38 from 3-point range.
Click to Gallery
Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Myles Turner (3) is fouled as he shoots against Phoenix Suns' Royce O'Neale during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) loses control of the ball after being fouled on a drive against Phoenix Suns' Royce O'Neale and Devin Booker during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma (18) drives to the basket between Phoenix Suns' Jordan Goodwin (23) and Grayson Allen during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
In a game that featured 16 ties and 12 lead changes, O'Neale put the Suns ahead for good with a tiebreaking buzzer-beater from about 50 feet to end the third quarter. Phoenix then scored the first seven points of the final period to extend its lead to 107-97.
Phoenix stayed in front by at least seven points the rest of the way.
Milwaukee's Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 33 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner each added 22 points. Ousmane Dieng had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix, which has won five of its last six, was opening a six-game trip. The Suns moved within one game of Denver for sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
The Bucks have lost six of seven and just finished a 3-7 stretch that included nine home games. Six of the Bucks' next eight games are away from home.
Taurean Prince played a scoreless 18 minutes for the Bucks in his first game since undergoing surgery in mid-November to repair a herniated disc in his neck. Phoenix's Jordan Goodwin scored six points in 13 minutes after missing 2 1/2 weeks with a left calf strain.
Milwaukee's Kevin Porter Jr. missed a fourth straight game with swelling in his right knee. The Bucks also didn't have Bobby Portis (thoracic spine bruise) or Jericho Sims (right patella tendinitis).
Suns: At Indiana on Thursday.
Bucks: At Miami on Thursday
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Myles Turner (3) is fouled as he shoots against Phoenix Suns' Royce O'Neale during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) loses control of the ball after being fouled on a drive against Phoenix Suns' Royce O'Neale and Devin Booker during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Kyle Kuzma (18) drives to the basket between Phoenix Suns' Jordan Goodwin (23) and Grayson Allen during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
MIAMI (AP) — It's Wilt, then Bam.
Bam Adebayo had a night for all time on Tuesday, with a point total second to only Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA record books. Adebayo scored 83 points, setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards.
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Obviously, we’ve been blessed to have been part of a lot of big moments in this arena. This one, it just happened. Moments happen and I’m grateful that we’re all able to be a part of it and witness it.”
Chamberlain once scored 100 points, a record that has stood since 1962. Kobe Bryant — one of Adebayo's basketball heroes — was No. 2 on the list with 81. Adebayo never thought he'd be in that club.
And then came a night he'll never forget.
“Wilt, me, then Kobe,” Adebayo said. “It sounds crazy.”
Adebayo’s final numbers: 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.
He was in tears as he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game. Emotions were kept in check, until then.
“For me, it was just remaining calm, remaining locked in and understanding that I can go for something special,” Adebayo said. “I didn’t think it was going to be 83. But to have this moment is surreal, because like I said, man, to be able to do it at home, in front of my mom, in front of my people, in front of the home fans, this is a mark in history that will forever be remembered.”
Adebayo's career high, before Monday, was 41.
That was passed by halftime.
Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter and never stopped rolling. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.
“BAM BAM BAM,” former Heat forward LeBron James posted on social media. James had the Heat single-game record of 61 points, set on March 3, 2014. He's now No. 2 on the team list — by a wide margin.
The NBA's previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters was Bryant, who had exactly that many going into the fourth for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.
Adebayo got to the line 16 times in the fourth, and the game had some comical moments. The Heat made clear they kept wanting Adebayo to get the ball and get to the line, even in a blowout. The Wizards tried to foul others — but couldn't stop the scoring onslaught.
“You’ve got to give him credit," Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. "In the first half he shot the ball terrific, he scored the ball really well. Obviously, he came out and had a little bit in the third, too. They obviously kept him in the game, and there was a lot of fouls called — 16 free throws in the fourth quarter. I was trying to take the ball out of his hands, he still got some free throws 40 feet from the rim. I can’t explain some of those calls. That’s all I got to say on that.”
And Adebayo only needed the first half to set a career high, too.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tied the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
He was just getting started.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra hugs center Bam Adebayo (13) as he leaves the game after scoring 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, right, celebrates with teammates after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, center, and players react during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, as center Bam Adebayo (13) plays on his way to scoring 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Fans and Miami Heat players on the bench stand to watch as center Bam Adebayo (13) takes a free throw, on his way to scoring 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat teammates celebrate center Bam Adebayo (13) after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) passes to forward Myron Gardner (15) as Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) aims to score as Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
