The Suns finally exhaled. One win, and a lot left to prove.
Thursday’s 117-104 win over Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak, and after weeks of struggle, this fan base needed it just as much as the team did.
Now the hard part. Phoenix is 2-5, and the win came against a Magic team missing Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs and coming off two straight games under 100 points. Credit Phoenix for handling it on the second night of a back-to-back, but nobody is booking a playoff run off that.
This is the
middle of a four-games-in-six-nights homestand that could make or break the season before it started. Portland, Houston, and San Antonio are three of the top six teams in the West. Orlando was supposed to be the “easy” one. Phoenix is 1-1 through the stretch, and the bar was 2-2. That means stealing one from the Rockets on Saturday or the Spurs right after. Easier said than done.
So forget the box score for a minute. The real value of the Orlando game is that Phoenix showed, for 48 minutes, what a winning version of this roster looks like. The question for this week is how much of it carries over.
How They Won
Defense first, and it showed up in the turnover column
Orlando gave it away 25 times. Phoenix gave it away 14. That 11-turnover swing was the single biggest reason the Suns won. They pressured the ball, jumped passing lanes and turned stops into transition looks. Booker had 3 steals and Dillon Brooks had 2. When the defense gets set and forces mistakes, the offense gets easy shots and the whole night snowballs in the right direction.
Three-point volume with efficiency
Phoenix went 17-of-34 from deep. Orlando went 13-of-38. That is 12 extra points from distance on four fewer attempts. Those made up a 15-rebound deficit and 11 fewer free throws.
Everybody took a turn
Devin Booker set the tone with 12 in the first quarter and 23 by halftime, finishing with 30 on 11-of-22 shooting, 8 assists, and a +16. Luke Kennard rescued the bench in the second quarter with 12 points on 3 threes. When Phoenix opened the third with sloppy turnovers, Brooks took the baton and finished with 24 points, 4 threes and a +12. Miles Bridges did the dirty work with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
What travels and what doesn’t
What travels: the effort and the defensive intent. Ball pressure works against anybody. The Suns looked more engaged on that end than at any point during the losing streak, and that does not depend on who is across from them.
What probably doesn’t: 50% from three. Phoenix is not shooting that every night, and a healthy, disciplined opponent will not hand over 25 turnovers. Strip those two numbers back toward normal and the Orlando game gets a lot closer.
What got exposed: the Suns were outrebounded by 15 and took 11 fewer free throws. Orlando went just 13-of-24 at the line and wasted the gap. Better teams will cash it in from the charity stripe.
It will take a complete, 48-minute effort to win these games. They had positive flashes that lasted 12-15 minutes in the previous three games leading up to the Orlando game, but were unable to put it all together and pull out wins.
The recipe is simple. Being active defensively, communicating relentlessly, and staying connected are the keys to winning games you aren’t supposed to.
They won’t beat Houston or San Antonio if they get killed on the glass or in the interior again. You get that leeway against Orlando. But the concept of winning a complete game like Orlando is a building block they can take into these next two games.
They may have to do it in a different way, but staying locked in for 48 minutes is the only way they stand a chance.
