The Phoenix Suns secured a much-needed win to keep the hope for breaking into the top-6 alive. They are now 38-27 on the season and sit just one game back from Denver for the 6th overall seed.
Jalen Green (25 points) got off to a hot start, Royce O’Neale (21 points) took the torch and went on a wild run of his own, and Devin Booker (27 points) was steady throughout. They survived a Kyle Kuzma flamethrower game with a balanced attack from their guards and role players.
The Suns are now 16-14 on the
road and have won three straight. They trailed by as many as 11, but the three-point shooting barrage was too much for Milwaukee to withstand. Phoenix connected on 24 of their 51 attempts from deep, good for a 47.1% clip from distance.
Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen both returned tonight and gave the team a needed boost off the bench.
Game Flow
First Half
Phoenix jumped out to a 9-2 advantage, led by seven straight points to open the game from Jalen Green, followed by a ferocious Oso Ighodaro poster.
Milwaukee stormed back, but Jalen Green snatched some ankles and gave a “point” to the defender on the floor as he drained a step-back jumper. The disrespect. I loved it. Green scored 12 of the Suns’ first 14 points.
We saw some early Khaman Maluach minutes, as he and Grayson Allen were the first two off the bench. Khaman got a pair of buckets shortly after checking in. Jordan Goodwin was the third sub off the bench to join Booker and O’Neale from the starting unit.
Phoenix pushed the pace early and got quality minutes from the youngsters. They led 36-30 after one. Jalen Green led the way with 14 points. Devin Booker chipped in with 7. They shot 57% from the floor as a team and got 13 points on just 9 shots from their bench unit in the quarter.
The Bucks opened the 2nd quarter on a 6-0 run to tie things up at 36 apiece. The Suns quickly answered back to push the lead back to six and force a Milwaukee timeout after a Haywood Highsmith triple generated by a Collin Gillespie steal and dish.
The teams continued to trade buckets, and the pace was wild. The next timeout came from Jordan Ott with the game tied at 51 after a Giannis leakout/cherrypick in transition.
Devin Booker had a nice stretch where he scored 5 points in consecutive possessions. The
Milwaukee led 65-62 at the break after a Kyle Kuzma buzzer-beating three. Devin Booker led all scorers with 20 points at the half. Jalen Green had 16 of his own.
Second Half
The third quarter was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Milwaukee opened it up strong, building their lead up to as many as 11 in the quarter. Phoenix stormed back, with Devin Booker continuing to build off his strong start in the first half.
Kyle Kuzma unexpectedly transformed into prime Klay Thompson, scoring 16 points in the third quarter to push his total up to 31 in the game. Myles Turner also hit a pair of threes in the high-scoring quarter. Phoenix did have an answer, and his name is Royce O’Neale.
O’Neale had himself a third quarter, pouring in 18 points after entering the quarter with zero points scored.
The Suns won the quarter by six points thanks to a Royce O’Neale buzzer beater from beyond half court to cap off a barrage of threes (6!) from the 9-year veteran. Phoenix led 100-97 entering the final quarter.
Let it fly, Royce!
After the refs missed an egregious “take foul” that should’ve been called on Milwaukee, Collin Gillespie drilled a three, leading to a Bucks timeout. “Ball don’t lie”, one would say.
Phoenix was on a 9-0 run to build their lead up to ten, 107-97, with 9:45 left in the game. Grayson Allen had himself a nasty hesi on a take to the rim for an easy bucket.
Collin Gillespie had himself a quarter, connecting on three triples in the quarter. He also found Jalen Green for a dagger three in the corner to push the Suns out ahead for good.
Up Next
The Suns will head over to Indiana on Thursday to take on the 15-49 Indiana Pacers.
