I get emotional easily. The Suns game touched my heart last night, and now I’m writing a whole article about it. Oh, the heart our doomed heroes of the Valley displayed, as they fell to a vastly superior opponent. You have to respect the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns had an excuse to play terribly on Friday. DeAndre Ayton was facing a 25-game suspension, and stuff like that is demoralizing. For the youngest team in the NBA, this would’ve been an easy game to give up on. The Nuggets had just steamrollered past the Portland Trailblazers 108-100 (a game that looks a lot closer on paper than it actually was) and had Nikola Jokic. Meanwhile, the Suns were starting Aron Baynes and were bringing…Frank Kaminsky off the bench? Good God. Even worse, the Suns had to play at Denver’s arena, where the altitude makes athletics pretty miserable. Phoenix had no business in making this a game.
Yet, the Suns surprised me when they fought tooth and nail for every second. In a scrappy game where neither team shot above 40% from the field, they showed guts I never thought this club was capable of. This was a tough, physical slugfest, and the Suns never backed down. By the end, I thought “Holy crap. I might have to actually un-blindfold myself every time the Suns are on offense.”
The game see-sawed back-and-forth in the fourth quarter, with Denver always ahead by a couple of points. Phoenix just never gave up, despite doling out big minutes to guys like Jevon Carter? Even Frank Kaminsky had the game of his life, putting up 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Suns battled Denver to a standstill after Devin Booker buried a crucial three-pointer to put the Suns within one, followed by Ricky Rubio icing three free-throws after Malik Beasley fouled him on a half-court heave.
In overtime, three Suns starters fouled out on three consecutive possessions. First went Kelly Oubre, who had carried Phoenix’s offense all night with 23 points. On the next trip down the court, the Suns lost Aron Baynes, then Ricky Rubio in quick fashion. They had to play Tyler Johnson in an OT game for Christ’s sake. This was the part that really caught my eye. Because the Suns played pretty well for a team consisting of the literal flotsam of the NBA.
Phoenix matched Denver blow-for-blow, and, dare I say it again, never gave up. It was beautiful. Jamal Murray kept torching Dario Saric off the dribble, yet Saric kept valiantly stepping up to the plate. It was Saric who forced a key stop against the much better Jokic with a minute left. Jevon Carter had no business staying in front of Murray either but just decided to stick to him like flypaper off the ball, and it somehow worked. Either way, guys who were the butt of every basketball joke were holding their own
The Suns were ahead 107-106 with 20 seconds left. Saric and Johnson, two guys who you probably haven’t thought about since 2018, both made critical baskets to put Phoenix in the lead. Jokic was laboring at this point, and the Suns had taken advantage of him in the pick-and-roll. One stop would’ve ended the game.
Poetically, it was a stupid foul from Phoenix that handed Denver the game. Jevon Carter hip-checked Jamal Murray off a screen, allowing Murray to sink two free throws.
It took Torrey Craig blocking Booker’s last-second shot to seal the game for Denver. And, as the Nuggets walked off the court, it was clear they were completely exhausted. Everywhere I looked, I saw faces of relief. This was not an enjoyable game for Denver. Jamal Murray summed it up pretty well after the game when a reporter asked how he was feeling. He responded, “tired.”
The Phoenix Suns had pushed one of the best teams in the NBA to their limit. That’s not a sentence I thought I’d say in my lifetime. I’m not claiming Phoenix is “Grit-and-Grind 2.0,” but they did their best imitation last night.
It’s not like this was the only time they played well this season either. The Suns flattened a quality NBA team in the Sacramento Kings 124-95 on Wednesday. Last year, it took Devin Booker exploding for 30 for the Suns to even be competitive in a game. Booker scored just 22 against Sacramento and 18 against Denver. And, guess what? He’s actually trying on defense now! There’s still bone-headed plays here and there, but it’s the effort that counts. Booker looks more engaged on-ball, and no longer gets pancaked on every screen that comes at him. There’s been a culture change in Phoenix, and it’s definitely been for the better.
Credit Monty Williams, the new Suns head coach. As much as we all love ridiculing Phoenix’s revolving door of coaches (five in the last four seasons), it looks like Williams is here to stay. He’s motivated the Suns when nobody else has been able to, and for that reason alone, deserves tremendous praise. Maybe even a statue or two outside the arena. This is like when the school finally finds that one teacher who can connect with the trouble-making delinquent, and his grades turn to D’s instead of F’s. Which is to say the Suns will still probably suck this season, but at least it won’t be so ugly.
Ayton’s 25-game suspension might even be a blessing in disguise. The Suns can tank while pretending like they’re not, and nobody can be mad because they’re missing Ayton! This isn’t the same Suns club that every team licks their lips after seeing them on the schedule. Phoenix could go 1-81 this year, but at least they’ll go down fighting. It’s time to respect the Phoenix Suns.
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