Rick Flair drip go “Woo!” on a(n)… all- time great.
The Suns dig deep to pull out a 102-98 victory over the Houston Rockets to win the KD trade for the first time this year.
What a wonderful game. One that gives us a blueprint for how the Suns are going to make noise in the perennially competitive Western Conference. This was a statement win and the best the Suns have tallied far, early in the season.
After tonight, I see a real path forward for the Suns to meet Ishbia’s lofty goals of a second-round
playoff appearance. In a game that could have been derailed by social media distractions, the Suns dug deep after a horrific 22-3 run to close the half to pull out a clutch-time victory against, possibly, the best team in the Western Conference. How did the Suns right the ship and pull out a competitive win against a team that swept the season series last year? Energy. The Phoenix Suns season is officially a question of energy.
So much has been made about fit but after tonight, it becomes irrelevant. It’s not about the points, or the rebounds, or even the minutes a player delivers for the Phoenix Suns that will determine the wins and losses. It’s the energy they can provide. Energy that leads to turnovers under the basket after a miss. Energy that leads to locking down defensive rebounds that lead to transition opportunities for the plethora of scorers on the Suns roster. Energy from blocks that lead to points, or drawing offensive fouls that take points away. The Suns rode the energy in the first quarter only to be hit by a brown out in the second, and in the end they found a way to generate enough power to match the Rockets’ energy plays blow for blow through a contested third and outlasting a desperate Sengun (who doesn’t want it with KhOso) looking to salvage a forgettable night with a fourth-quarter push that was too little too late.
I don’t know if there is any player I can target as standing out in game that needed a whole team to secure a win. The Suns had 5 players finish the night in double figures, including a surgical Luke Kennard who proved to be the a fusion of Royce and Grayson Allen in a flurry of points in limited minutes. Booker put up 24 points on 24 shots, and Jalen Green went 50% from the field on 7-of-14 shooting, with 8 assists. The decision-making is coming along. The Villain, under the spotlight after his online spat with KD, held the former Sun to limited shots in the first half, but couldn’t keep him off the line, where he grabbed 10 points on 11 attempts and ended the night with a hollow 21 points.
KhOso tag-teamed Sengun all night, who remained quiet for 3 and 1/2 quarters before making a push in the final six minutes. He finished the night with 15 points on 5/16 shooting with a modest 6 rebounds and a -16 plus-minus. If you’re looking for a reason the Suns won the game, look no further than Sengun’s 1-7 shooting with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. While there were plenty of mistakes from the young center duo, KhOso took advantage of some key injuries to Capella and Adams, and did enough inside to give the Suns the opportunity to win the game tonight.
Game Flow
First Half
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
The Suns got Jalen Green going early, starting 4-of-4 in the opening minutes of the game. I believe this needs to be a focus, and I was happy to see Jalen experience some success early against his former team. I no longer want to hear that Jalen Green can’t play next to Devin Booker, as he consistently made the right decision and his paint touches became a real difference-maker for stretches in this game.
The Suns continued their stretch of hot starts, finding the energy early in a run sparked by Oso pulling the chair on Sengun, leading to a turnover and lay-up for Jalen Green. An offensive goal-tend led to an Oso “jumper”, then Dillon bodied Durant into a bad pass, leading to a scramble with Dunn causing and then creating a turnover, which led to a Dillon three-pointer and a Houston timeout with the Suns leading 17-11.
The Suns continue to press, and Brooks draws an offensive foul, then hits an iso turnaround. Green makes a steal that leads to a corner three from Ryan Dunn, who had himself another night, and Kennard opens up the last three minutes, by splitting the black see opening up an assist to Ryan Dunn. Brooks hits a bucket, and Khaman shows promising hands as he collects a pass off a cut to the basket for a dunk. Kennard hits a jumper and a three to end the first quarter with the Suns up 35-23.
In the Second quarter, the Suns continued to cook, scoring an early six points before the system glitched and a scoring brownout, which lasted the length of the second quarter, led to a 41-23 lead for the Suns, turning into a tied score of 47-47 going into halftime. Is what happened.
A string of negative energy plays compounded into outright disaster, sparked off by four straight turnovers from the Suns team and caused by a series of quick shots, poor decisions, and offensive rebounds that snowballed into a 22-3 run going into halftime. For so many teams, this could have been the end, the beginning of the end, but the Suns managed to secure some extra juice in a game that was clearly important to the two former Houston Rockets who are looking to prove their value against the team that recently cast them aside.
Second Half
The third quarter opens up with a previously quiet Durant hitting a three-point bucket that is immediately answered by the Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker with a three-point bucket of his own. This is what I loved about this third quarter, where every Houston push was answered in kind by the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns’ path to victory is their ability to bring more energy than the opposing team. It was clear as day in the first quarter when the Suns made all the plays and shots they needed to push to an early double-digit lead, and unfortunately even more clear in a starkly different second half where the Houston Rockets woke up and matched the Suns’ energy, systematically dismantling the gains the Suns had made. Too often this has led to a power outage from the Phoenix Suns, but not tonight.
A miscommunication on a switch between Booker and Bridges gives up an open three. Open three-point shots lead to the Rockets taking a 57-53 lead with 8 minutes left in the third.
Then Brooks contests a KD drive, which leads to Miles Bridges getting to the free-throw line for two shots. Positive energy. Then Brooks fouls KD on a three-point shot, bad energy, which pushes the Rockets’ lead to 61-55.
Brooks and Dunn force a steal after a missed foul shot. Energy. Khaman knocks a ball free, and Booker dives to the floor, leading to a jump ball where the Rockets are called for a foul. Energy. The Suns collect the rebound on a Sengun miss, which turns into a Jalen Green dunk. Energy.
A Dillon Brooks hits a three, and a Durant miss leads to Booker heading to the foul line to regain the lead at 66-65. Energy. Kevin Durant hits a three, which is answered with a three from Devin Booker, with 2:25 left in the quarter. Energy. Dunn grabs an offensive rebound that led to a Collin Gillespie three-pointer. Energy. Durant gets an offensive rebound, and the Rockets are up 73-72. Negative energy.
Booker answers with a back door cut that leads to an easy bucket and the Suns regaining the lead 74-73.
Booker gets out in transition and earns a trip to the free-throw line. The Rockets win a challenge, and the Suns give up a straight drive to the basket to Fred, but Collin immediately answers with his own drive to the hoop. Energy. The Suns finish the third quarter up 76-75.
The fourth quarter opens up with Jalen Green attacking the paint. An early drive leads to a ManMan offensive rebound and putback. Khaman takes a trip to the free-throw line, and JG follows up with a jumper to push the Suns’ lead to 80-75 . The Suns give up an offensive rebound to Smith, and Gillespie takes a bad shot, which leads to a Sheppard three and the Rockets tie the game up at 82-82.
Jalen Green contests a rebound that deflects out of bounds, and the Suns win a challenge to keep the ball on their end. A JG paint touch leads to a Malauch offensive rebound and one opportunity. Another Green paint touch leads to Bridges getting a mismatch and scoring in isolation.
Sengun and Miles Bridges exchange buckets. Sengun hits a three, but Dillon the Villain answers with a three of his own. Energy. Green gets into the paint and finds his way to the free-throw line where he hits 1-2 to give the Suns a 93-91 advantage.
Oso attempts an entry pass to a cutting Green, which gets fumbled out of bounds. Sengun takes it to the hoop to tie it up at 93-93. A Durant miss leads to a Booker middy, but Sengun fights his way to the foul line, hitting two foul shots to tie it back up at 95-95.
After a Durant miss, the Suns find Booker for an open three off an inbound, which he hits to take a 100-95 lead with 3 minutes left in the game. KD misses a shot on a Brooks contest, and Booker gets to the hoop for a lay-up to push the lead to 102-95. (Headband Book 4 L)
The Rockets bring it back to 102-97 when they turn it over on an attempted entry pass to a Sengun with 1:32 seconds left. Booker misses two straight shots, and Durant hits a jumper with 45 seconds left to bring the score to 102-99. Booker and Green work the two-man game, which leads to an out-of-bounds play and an in-and-out three from Booker with 3.2 seconds on the shot clock.
The Rockets have the ball within one score of tying it up, but the shot misses, and Oso collects the Rebound to secure a Suns’ win in a season-altering momentum game.
Up Next
The Phoenix Suns take on the San Antonio Spurs and their otherworldly seven-footer coming off a 50-point performance. Definitely an outsized task for a Suns team just starting to find their rhythm. Can the Suns continue to stack energy plays that lead to runs and secure a second straight win over a Western Conference contender? I hope so. Now that they’ve finally found their footing, they can’t afford to slide back.
