Phoenix Suns spread holiday cheer by shopping with kids
Phoenix Suns Oso Ighodaro and Koby Brea shop at Shoe Palace with kids from Helping Hands for Single Moms and Wesley Community Center on Dec. 12, 2025.
Devin Booker scored 20 points and Dillon Brooks added 18 to lead the Phoenix Suns (18-13) to a 123-114 victory over the struggling New Orleans Pelicans (8-25) on Saturday, Dec. 27.
It was the Suns’ second win over the Pelicans in as many nights in New Orleans and third straight overall.
The Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III scored the game-highs 24 points and made six 3s to lead all scorers. Former No. 1 pick Zion Williamson added 22 points, and rookie big man Derik Queen added 21 points for New Orleans.
Suns center Mark Williams scored 10 points with eight rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench, a day after scoring 24 points with 13 rebounds in Friday’s 115-108 win over the Pelicans. It was the first appearance for Williams in the second of a back-to-back this season.
Williams was ejected from the game along with the Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado (7 points, three assists) after they traded punches with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.
The altercation began when Williams set a screen on Alvarado for Collin Gillespie (17 points, seven rebounds, game-high seven assists, two steals) in a pick-and-roll.
Alvarado tried to push his way through the screen and he was called for a foul on Williams. After Alvarado briefly protested the call, he and Williams had a heated exchange, which led to blows and a dust-up between both teams.
Williams and Alvarado were handed Flagrant 2 fouls and automatic ejections.
“I saw it start and then all of a sudden, everyone jumped in,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said when he was asked about the fight in his post-game press conference. “Obviously, that happens. It just feels like a lack of sleep the second night of a back-to-back, something always tends to happen.”
Ott also cited heightened physicality, noting there were 49 fouls called and 67 free-throw attempts between both teams in Friday’s game.
“Last night (Dec. 26), there was a lot of free throws,” Ott said. “Tonight, there wasn’t as much. They let us play tonight, which is something that we enjoyed to do, and they got tangled up. Obviously, they both got thrown out.”
The Suns led most of Saturday’s contest, including a 10-point lead at halftime and their largest lead of 13 in the third quarter.
The Pelicans made multiple second-half runs to keep the game close, including a 13-5 run that trimmed the lead to two with 3:54 left to play.
But the Suns’ stellar 3-point shooting with 20 makes, including five each from Gillespie and Royce O’Neale (15 points), pushed the Suns over the top. Phoenix also had solid contributions from reserves Jordan Goodwin (16 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Jamaree Bouyea (12 points)
The Suns’ four-game road trip continues Dec. 29 at the struggling Washington Wizards (6-23) at 5 p.m. MST.