Winter is coming, or whatever passes for winter in Phoenix. We felt it these past few days as the rain rolled in and the air dipped low enough to make you wonder where you stashed your hoodies. You’re
welcome, that’s your weather report from John.
When the cold creeps in, old engines start to remember their age. They cough. They grind. They hesitate. You turn the key, you turn it again, and sometimes you have to let the thing rumble for a minute before you trust it to take you anywhere. I had an old Dodge Ram that pulled this move every winter, and if I hit a stop sign too early in the drive, it would stall out like it needed a quick nap.
So why the talk about engines and cold starts? Because that’s exactly what Sunday night felt like against the San Antonio Spurs in their 111-102 victory.
The Suns sputtered out of the gate, and the sputter stuck around for most of the first half. The shots came up short, the kind of short that feels like the legs belong to a team on the second night of a back-to-back, not the first. The whistles kept turning the physicality into punishment, and any sense of rhythm drifted somewhere up into the rafters.
But time has a way of warming things up. The engine found its pulse. The second half cracked open, and the shots started falling with some confidence behind them. The defense tightened. The game steadied. Phoenix put another quality win on the board, even if San Antonio limped into the matchup with an injury report that looked like a CVS receipt. To be fair, the Suns had their own absences, with four players sitting, three normally locked into the rotation.
Another win. The second one over San Antonio this season. The Spurs have five losses now, and two of them carry the same signature. The Phoenix Suns got them again.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
After the unbelievable, awesome, amazing, stellar, game-winning shot-making game by Villian, Jr, Collin Gillespie has now joined Devin Booker, Mark Williams, and DillonBrooks as players on the team who have multiple Bright Side Ballers to their name.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 17 against the Spurs. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
25 points (10-of-24, 4-of-12 3PT, 1-of-2 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, +8 +/-
Devin Booker
24 points (7-of-18, 2-of-6 3PT, 8-of-11 FT), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, +6 +/-
Mark Williams
14 points (6-of-8, 0-of-0 3PT, 2-of-3 FT), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, 1 block, +2 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
15 points (7-of-15, 1-of-5 3PT), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, +11 +/-
Collin Gillespie
15 points (6-of-13, 3-of-7 3PT), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, -1 +/-
Royce O’Neale
9 points (3-of-8, 3-of-5 3PT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +13 +/-
Who gets it?
