The Phoenix Suns opened their Week 4 slate at home against the New Orleans Pelicans, 121-98.
The Suns did exactly what you want against a team like the Pelicans. They attacked, hit their shots, and created
real separation. The Pelicans aren’t a good basketball team right now, and Phoenix made sure to remind them of it.
And while Devin Booker did his part with 19 points, the night belonged to Grayson Allen. The second-longest tenured Sun, a guy who rarely gets the love he’s earned since arriving in the Valley, went nuclear. Career-high 42 points. Franchise record 10 threes. He shot 10-of-15 from deep and 12-of-17 overall, and the rim might as well have been a canyon.
Behind Grayson’s eruption, the Suns did what a good team should. The team went 19-of-43 (44.2%) from deep and scored 29 points off turnovers. In short? They took care of business, handled a wounded opponent, and looked the part of a squad finding its rhythm. That’s three straight wins and five of their last six. They 5-1 at won at home. The record climbs to 6–5. The Pelicans sink to 2–8.
Game Flow
First Half
It was breakfast ball for the Pelicans, missing their first five shots, but the Suns couldn’t make them initially pay. They opened 1-of-5 from the field and crawled to a 2–0 lead two and a half minutes in. If you want to beat teams like the Pelicans, you have to strike when they’re cold. Early on, the Suns let that moment slip.
As the first quarter rolled on, the Suns pieced together an 8–0 run, fueled by New Orleans giveaways. Defense turned into offense, with four Suns steals and six Pelicans turnovers. The difference? Phoenix turned those mistakes into nine points.
One notable rotation wrinkle: Nick Richards was the first center off the bench, not Oso Ighodaro.
It wasn’t exactly a shooting clinic, though. The Suns hit 40.9% from the field and 18.2% from deep, going 2-of-11. So even with what felt like a dominant quarter, the lead was only seven, 29–22, with Devin Booker pacing the way at 11 points.
Oso Ighodaro opened the second quarter, so anyone hoping to see Khaman Maluach’s integration into the first half offense will have to wait a little longer.
The usual sharpshooters wasted no time heating up. Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale combined for 11 points in the first three minutes, stretching the lead to 15 and keeping the offense humming. If you want offense when Booker is the bench, Grayson has certainly stepped into that role as he is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
The group of Colin Gillespie, Grayson Allen, Isaiah Livers, Royce O’Neale, and Oso Ighodaro opened the second quarter like a wrecking crew. They ran for six minutes, posted a +17, and changed the game’s entire rhythm. Allen lit it up with 11 points during a 25-8 run, while the team caught fire, shooting 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-9 from deep.
That stretch was the difference, the moment they pulled away. The lead expanded to as much as 24 points, the fourth time this season in which the Suns had led by 20+ points.
Entering the half, Devin Booker had 15, but Grayson Allen led all scorers with 18. Royce O’Neale added 12, hitting 4-of-5 from deep while grabbing five boards and a steal. The Suns turned seven turnovers into 14 points and dominated the effort stats, outscoring New Orleans 11–2 in second-chance points.
After outsourcing the Pelicans 35-19 in the second, the Suns took a 64-41 lead into the half.
Second Half
The Suns opened the third quarter the same way they ended the second, putting buckets on repeat. A 9–0 run to start, four of five starters scoring, and the only one who didn’t was Dillon Brooks, who got his looks but couldn’t cash in. Suddenly, the Suns were up 30 and in complete control.
Grayson Allen kept letting it fly, and the net kept burning. Midway through the third, he was up to 7-of-11 from deep. New Orleans finally showed some fight with a 13–4 stretch, powered by Saddiq Bey finding rhythm and scoring seven of those points.
The Suns started getting pushed around on the glass, giving up four offensive boards on one possession. To their credit, they held firm and denied points on that trip thanks to a Royce O’Neale block that shut it down. Still, even down 25, New Orleans wasn’t ready to tap out. A few sloppy live-ball turnovers cracked the door open, letting the Pelicans sneak it back to a 23-point gap.
Phoenix gave up 31 in the quarter, but they matched with 32 of their own, carried by Grayson Allen catching absolute fire: 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting, all from deep.
Headed to the fourth, Suns up 96–72.
Through three quarters, Grayson Allen had done something only eight players in Suns history had ever pulled off: hitting nine threes in a game. Cameron Johnson had done it. Aron Baynes had done it. Channing Frye, Quentin Richardson, Landry Shamet? They’d all had their night. And Grayson? He’d already done it three times before.
And wouldn’t you know it, he hit his 10th, setting a personal and franchise record.
Shortly after that, Grayson Allen set a new personal best. His previous career high was 40 points, way back in his rookie season with the Jazz. On a smooth Euro step to the rim, he hit 42.
With 8:40 left in the game, with the Mortgage Mathcup Center crowd roaring and chanting his name, Grayson Allen walked to the bench.
The Pelicans didn’t fold, not even when the crowd was roaring for Grayson’s flamethrower of a night. They kept swinging, slicing the lead to 21 while Grayson scored all seven of Phoenix’s points during a stretch where New Orleans outpaced them 10–7 to open the fourth.
Things got chippy as the game wore on. A little back-and-forth, a little ego on the floor. Rookie Derik Queen earned himself a technical after jawing with Nick Richards and Dillon Brooks, a nice little “welcome to the league” moment. Nigel Hayes-Davis added some spice with a flagrant on a reckless closeout against Jordan Hawkins.
But make no mistake, the outcome was never in question. The rookies were in there with 4:28 left, and Rasheer Fleming put together a couple of highlights of his own as the Suns walked off the floor with a clean, confident win.
Up Next
The team heads to Dallas to take on the Mavericks, who lucked their way into the number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Early signs say they’re wasting that gift by playing him out of position, trying to force something that isn’t there.
Suns and Mavericks on Wednesday. See you then, Bright Side.
