The Phoenix Suns come up short with the first road game of six here in Miami, 127-121. A hard-fought battle that saw the Suns down as many as twenty was erased, but it just was not enough to hold off a surging Heat.
The Suns fans saw numerous things tonight, from a Devin Booker injury scare to a relentless finish that makes you realize never to count them out. They had three 20-point scorers (Brooks/Allen 25, Booker 24), but with the Heat’s dominating physical presence early, it was just too much.
It also does not help when Bam Adebayo is making clutch three-pointers left and right. He finished with 29, including four three-pointers, something this squad was not anticipating. When other lethal scorers like Norman Powell and Tyler Herro also catch fire, it can present a problem, one the Suns ran into tonight.
Game Flow
First Half
The Suns and Heat traded buckets early on as they both tried to gain momentum. The Heat, on a three-game losing streak, wanted to take control of home court, while the Suns wanted to get out hot and early on their six-game road trip.
The Suns took the first time out of the game as the Heat showed they could score and keep up with the Suns’ fast-paced nature. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro got off to the right start, scoring the first 15 of 18 Heat points.
For the Suns, Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker try to take over. They attack the basket, looking for fouls, and hit some efficient mid-range jumpers. They start early with a combined eleven shot attempts, with over three minutes left in the first.
The Suns take another timeout after Miami’s consistent offense, which has been controlling the glass early. Following that timeout, they get a run of their own, crawling back in. Grayson Allen becomes a huge spark as he hits three shots from beyond the arc and has eleven off the bench.
The only problem is the Suns are being outscored in the paint by double digits (22-10). The easy layups they are converting on are keeping them alive late in this quarter, where it finished with the Suns down eight, 36-28.
If you thought the bleeding would stop early on this next quarter, that would be a lie. Allen did get a nice steal with another make to get up to 13 points, but that was one of the big highlights early on. The Suns, unfortunately, cannot stop Miami’s scoring, regardless of who is on the court. Tyler Herro, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell, and Davion Mitchell have all found themselves getting hot early on.
This is a case of the Suns just running into a Miami Heat team with a magnet on the basket, while they struggle from three (4/15 or 27%). Jordan Ott is clearly frustrated, as they are down 16 before halftime.
Following that timeout, the Suns had a mini run as Brooks and Booker started attacking the basket. After multiple opportunities at the line, the Suns crawl back into this. Brooks has 11 so far this season as he got hot.
That said, Phoenix is playing better defense, but the Heat are still delivering the scoring punch. At one point, three players in Herro, Adebayo, and Jacquez had the same amount of points as the Suns (36). Yet the Suns continue to show that underdog fight and grit regardless of the score.
Sadly, to close out the quarter, the Suns still struggled and went into the half down 71-54. The Suns were out-rebounded 28-20 and allowed twelve more points in the paint. These two stats show the Suns have to get bigger and more physical in the second half.
Second Half
The Suns needed to match the Heat’s energy at the beginning of this half to gain some command back. They found some early points from Mark Williams as he had four in the paint to match the Heat’s primary way of scoring. Royce O’Neale also hit his first shot of the half to get the team on the board.
The first timeout came when the Suns challenged the call of an offensive foul on Devin Booker. The Suns were successful on this call, and Booker hit both free throws, and he was rewarded. This was a turning point as the Suns went on a 20-4 run in this quarter to crawl back. Booker hit a big-time three, and the team’s connective defense was now clicking. The lead shrank from the largest it had been in the game, at 20, down to 14, then to 4 rapidly.
A great defensive play by Collin Gillespie led to a quick Heat timeout around halfway through the third. With some stellar play from Mark Williams bringing some energy on the glass, the Suns were able to fight back in areas where they were weaker during the first half. This, along with the Heat’s foul troubles, led the Suns to enter the bonus with 5:12 remaining in the quarter.
We also saw Dillon Brooks go on another heater, using his aggressiveness to keep the Suns afloat. He received another technical foul, but this did not turn him cold.
Since they were grabbing boards and playing some scrappy defense (with a bit of luck, Miami coming back down to earth offensively), the Suns finished the quarter tied after an Oso Ighodaro putback play with time expiring.
In a quarter where the Heat had extended the lead to 20, it had now shrunk to zero, with the teams tied at 92 heading into the final quarter.
To start the fourth, both teams make a three-pointer from Kel’el Ware and one from Grayson Allen. With another offensive foul he disagreed with, Jordan Ott called his second challenge of the game and won it once again. Devin Booker, who had a scary ankle roll, comes back to the bench as well, which relieves fans of a potential long-term injury.
With him waiting to get back in, the Suns had some great defense, especially on a big play from Ighodaro. This led to back-to-back threes. One from Dunn (his first points) and one from Gillespie to take the first lead for the Suns all game.
Gillespie kept this flamethrower going, making back-to-back shots and coming alive in the second half on both sides of the ball. The Suns’ ability to crash the offensive glass keeps them alive here in the fourth again, with a nice dive and pass from Ighodaro to generate some points.
Following that, we see some weird officiating for both sides as players get into it. Double texhs and all come out flying, and it gets scrappy as both teams fight to pull out a win. Adebayo gets hot late with Powell to keep the Heat alive as they make triples repeatedly.
A bad turnover from Allen and a missed opportunity on the offensive end with Brooks receiving a WILD flagrant late. This was ultimately it for the Suns, as, even though they fought back, they fell short on the road in Miami, 127-121.
Up Next
The Suns continue on this long road trip, taking on the top team in the East, the Detroit Pistons, on Thursday. They look to get back in the win column, taking on another physical team in Detroit.
