The Phoenix Suns lost to the Orlando Magic 115-111 on Tuesday. Devin Booker led the Suns with 34 points, but Collin Gillespie was the only other Suns starter to score in double digits. The Suns struggled to shoot from both the field and from three. While the Magic had 25 turnovers, the Suns had 20. The team’s two-game losing streak has been snapped.
Phoenix trailed for the majority of the contest, not taking their first lead until early in the fourth quarter. However, on the second night of a back-to-back,
the Suns’ offense went cold down the stretch, going more than five minutes without hitting a field goal late. To start and end the game, Phoenix had trouble executing offensively.
Now 42-34 on the year, it’s looking more and more likely the Suns will be in the play-in. The question is will be it as the 8th or 7th seed. Their lead over the Clippers is now just 2.5 games.
Game Flow
First Half
It was a tepid start for the Suns. Technical fouls were flying for both teams and the Suns had just two made field goals in the first 5;35 of the game. Orlando was up 20-8 about halfway through the first. Phoenix was able to cut the lead down to single digits, going on an 8-0 run to end the quarter. It was 28-21 Orlando after the first quarter.
The Magic pushed the lead back to double digits early in the second with a 5-0 run. Phoenix started to creep back around the midway point of the quarter. Jordan Goodwin had an impactful four-point play that cut the deficit to five.
Want to know how Dillon brooks is back? He picked up four fouls in the first half and had to be subbed out less midway through the second because of his foul troubles.
When the Suns cut the lead down to a one-possession score, Orlando responded with a 9-0 run. For the rest of the half, Orlando had a sizable lead Phoenix just couldn’t crack too deeply into. At the half, the Suns trailed the Magic 70-56.
Second Half
To start the third quarter, Phoenix quickly cut their second half lead in half and more some. An 11-2 run prompted an early Orlando timeout, and the Suns pushed the game into a one-score contest at 80-77. Jordan Goodwin was flying all over the court. With Brooks in foul trouble, Goodwin anchored Phoenix’s defense.
The Orlando lead hovered around five points. Phoenix struggled to retake the lead. When Phoenix cut it to two with less than two minutes left in the third, Desmond Bane hit a straightaway triple. It was the perfect depiction of how the final six minutes of the third went until the end. A quick 8-0 run by the Suns to end the third tied the game up at 94 heading into the fourth.
Phoenix’s first lead of the game came early in the fourth quarter, with a Rasheer Fleming slam. The game went back and forth. Neither team was able to build more than a possession lead. Both offenses started to slow down their paces. Grayson Allen started to find a bit of a rhythm after a rough start to the game.
Down 109-107 with 4:08 left, Jordan Ott and company called a timeout. Both team’s offenses remained static and couldn’t generate baskets or good looks. Down the stretch, Phoenix’s offense especially struggled. They went over five minutes without making a field goal which ended up being their kryptonite and ending their two-game win streak.
Up Next
The Suns will face the Hornets on Thursday for their third game in four nights and their third game of their four-game road trip. Phoenix beat Charlotte 111-99 last month back in Arizona.
