MINNEAPOLIS — Devin Booker scored 21 of his season-high 43 points in the third quarter to carry Phoenix in a 118-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, the 14th win for the Suns in their last 17 games.

Booker hit 15 of 26 shots from the floor, repeatedly blowing by his defenders for smooth pullup jumpers and traffic-beating, twisting layups for the 13th 40-point game of his brilliant six-year career.

The two-time All-Star Game pick — each as an injury replacement — went 12 for 13 from the free-throw line for the surging Suns (22-11). They moved into a third-place tie in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers (24-12).

DeAndre Ayton added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 11 points and 15 assists for the Suns, who outscored the Timberwolves 42-25 over the final 14 minutes.

Anthony Edwards made a 3-pointer for Minnesota to cut the lead to 76-74 with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, but Booker assisted on a 3-pointer by Cameron Johnson on the next possession and scored seven more points himself before the end of the period.

Edwards scored 24 points on 8-for-22 shooting for the Timberwolves, who were doing a decent job of defending everybody but Booker until fading hard down the stretch in new coach Chris Finch’s first home game. Minnesota has allowed 518 points in four games under Finch.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves (7-27), who lost their eighth straight game. The worst team in the NBA finished the month of February at 2-14.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio, playing against the Suns for the first time since he was traded to Oklahoma City for Paul and acquired by Minnesota two days later, had six points, six assists and three steals. Rubio was the team’s fourth-leading scorer in his only season with Phoenix. … Jake Layman scored 11 points off the bench.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Host Charlotte on Wednesday night.

SATURDAY

WIZARDS 128, WOLVES 112

By Ian Nicholas Quillen

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal scored 34 points, Russell Westbrook added 19 as part of his NBA-leading 10th triple-double, and the Washington Wizards used a 44-point third quarter to pull away for a 128-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Westbrook added 14 rebounds and 12 assists for the Wizards, who have won seven of eight to move back into playoff contention following a 6-17 start.

Davis Bertans scored 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter, including four of his five 3-pointers. Garrison Mathews scored 18 points in Washington’s first home game following a four-game West Coast trip.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who dropped their seventh straight, matching their longest slide of the season.

Anthony Edwards added 21 points for NBA-worst Minnesota, as starting guard Malik Beasley served the first of a 12-game suspension.

The Timberwolves were in it until Washington’s third-quarter outburst, which included an extended 35-12 run.