Basket Ball / Sports

SUNS BLAST MAVS IN GAME 5, INCH CLOSER TO WEST FINALS

The Suns used a huge third quarter to turn a tight game into a comfortable win. Phoenix opened up the second half on an 11-4 run, highlighted by Booker’s two 3-pointers, for a 61-50 lead.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd called for a timeout, but it did little to stop the onslaught. The Suns led 82-60 going into the fourth with Booker pouring in 12 points during the third.

While the Suns were finally finding some offensive continuity, the Mavs completely lost theirs, scoring just four points in the first six minutes of the third. At times, the Dallas offense regressed to mostly watching Luka Dončić try and work magic, but he couldn’t do it all by himself.

The Mavs had 12 turnovers during the third quarter, finishing with 16. They also tallied just nine assists on the night, compared to 28 for Phoenix, which also out-rebounded Dallas 50-38.

The top-seeded Suns bounced back after dropping the previous two games and can win the series in Game 6 on Thursday in Dallas.

Dončić finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Brunson added 21 points. The Mavs shot just 38% from the field.

The Suns took a hard-fought 49-46 lead into halftime. Booker scored 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Dončić countered with 18 points, though it was a little less efficient after making seven of 16 shots.

The Mavericks led for a majority of the first half before Booker’s baseline jam tied it at 40-all with 3:47 before halftime. Mikal Bridges had a nifty steal and then scored on a fast-break layup for a 44-42 lead.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Mavs drill 20 three-pointers in series-tying win over Suns

The Dallas Mavericks rained 20 three-pointers and again neutralized Phoenix point guard Chris Paul to beat the top-seeded Suns 111-101 on Sunday and knot their NBA playoff series at two games each. Star guard Luka Doncic scored 26 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 24 for Dallas, who have won two games at home to level the best-of-seven Western Conference matchup after dropping the first two games in Phoenix. The Suns, who finished the regular season with the best record in the league, will try to regain the advantage when they host game five on Tuesday. It’s guaranteed to shift back to Dallas for game six on Thursday.

Overall, the Mavs were on fire from beyond the arc, their eight three-pointers in the first quarter helping them build a 37-25 lead.

Their 14 three-pointers in the first half tied a franchise playoff record for three-pointers in a half.

They led 68-56 at the break and even more ominously for Phoenix, veteran point guard Paul committed his fourth foul trying to make a tip-in with 1.1 seconds left before half-time.

Paul picked up his fifth foul early in the third quarter and headed to the bench. He returned with 10:28 left in the fourth and promptly fouled out thanks to a hand to the arm of Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson.

A dangerous team

Devin Booker led the Suns with 35 points. Jae Crowder added 15 and Deandre Ayton scored 14.

But the Mavericks bench out-scored the Phoenix reserves 36-26.

“This team was amazing,” said Doncic, who was outstanding but received little support in the Mavs’ two series-opening defeats. “Everybody that gets to the court leaves everything out there. If we play hard and we get stops, we’re a dangerous team.”

While Doncic struggled with his shots, he added 11 assists along with four rebounds. He also forced four steals as the Suns turned it over 17 times. While Phoenix managed to cut the deficit to four points with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, the Mavericks repelled every …

Basket Ball / Sports

Suns erupt in fourth quarter to race by Mavericks for 2-0 lead in Western Conference semifinal

There were 54 fouls called.

Eleven were offensive, with Phoenix picking up the first seven of them.

There were 30 3-pointers made. Dallas hit 17 of them.

Then there was Chris Paul.

With Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker and JaVale McGee all in foul trouble, the Suns turned to their floor general and once again, Paul delivered in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s 129-109 win to take a 2-0 series lead in the conference semifinals.

“It impresses us every time you see it, but it doesn’t surprise us,” Booker said. “It’s just the will to win. If he sees a matchup he likes, you can hear their bench yelling, ‘Send him left.’ You can try whatever you want to do, but he has a rebuttal move for you at every turn. Not only can he score, he can make a play for somebody else if you leave your man.

Scoring 14 of his 28 points in the fourth, Paul, who turns 37 years old Thursday, had the sellout crowd of 17,071 rocking in the fourth to fuel Phoenix’s offensive eruption.

“It’s fun, I love it,” said Paul, who shot 6-of-7 from the field in the fourth.

The Suns outscored the Mavs 40-26 in the fourth as they led by as many as 26. This after finishing Game 1 poorly in winning by just seven after leading by 21.

“You have to not only be impressed, but proud of the way we continue to win games mentally,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

The series now shifts to Dallas for Friday’s Game 3 and Sunday’s Game 4.

“You’ve got to accept the challenge,” Suns forward Jae Crowder said. “They have a lot of guys who put the ball in the basket and they try to get mismatches and stuff like that. Coming into this series, you have to accept the challenge of guarding these guys and making it as tough as possible.”

Booker finished with 30 points on Wednesday as he hit three 3s in the fourth, with his final one putting Phoenix …

Basket Ball / Sports

Chris Paul makes NBA playoff history in Phoenix Suns’ closeout win over the New Orleans Pelicans

Chris Paul shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the field to help the Phoenix Suns close out their opening round playoff series with a 115-109 Game 6 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Living up to his ‘Point God’ moniker, it marked the first time in playoff history that a player made 13 or more shots without a single miss.
Paul also made all four of his free throws to finish with 33 points, while also racking up eight assists and five rebounds.
However, the 12-time All-Star was lucky not to receive a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter for a brutal elbow to the chin of New Orleans guard Jose Alvarado. The incident was missed by the referees and, despite Alvarado’s protestations, the Pelicans were unable to call for a review after having already used their coach’s challenge.
Paul spent the first six years of his illustrious career in New Orleans after being drafted fourth by the franchise — then the Hornets — in 2005 and played his fifth season with current Pelicans head coach Willie Green.

“I’m emotional every game here [in New Orleans],” he told NBA on TNT. “Willie being my brother, somebody I talk to about everything, us not talking this whole series, seeing his son sitting on the baseline.

“It’s a good win for us, there’s a reason why he’s the coach here. There ain’t been this much energy here in a long time and I’m just glad we got the win. I always say this city raised me, man. It’s tough, this is emotional for me.
“I root for this team when I’m not playing against them, so to beat them was nice to get through the first round.”
On his return from a hamstring injury suffered in Game 2 of the series, Suns shooting guard Devin Booker put up 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while center Deandre Ayton had a bright night with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
…
Basket Ball / Sports

Bridges shines, Suns grab 3-2 series lead

With the series tied at 2-2, the Phoenix Suns welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to their homecourt for deciding Game 5. Both teams need this win to assert their will on the series. The Suns are shorthanded with Booker still not available. The Pelicans want to take advantage of that fact and gain the momentum in the Playoffs.

The Phoenix Suns went with their starting lineup of Chris Paul, Cameron Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton. The New Orleans Pelicans started with CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Brandon Ingram, Jaxson Hayes and Jonas Valanciunas.

Game Summary

With the opening tip, both teams locked horns to take the lead early on the game. The crowd was enticed with such intense battles between the two teams. Early on in the game, the duo of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton went to work. Ayton went to the paint and attacked the rim.

The Pelicans offense got a bit cold after a few minutes and they struggled immensely. The Suns defense was tight enough to frazzle the Pelicans and they turned the ball over multiple times.

In the 2nd quarter, a display between the two guards of both teams took place as they went head to head. McCollum and Paul were the ones who went on the offensive this time and distributing the ball to their teammates. Yet the Suns early lead was more than enough to take the 1st half with a score of 59-46.

In the 2nd half, the Pelicans went entirely on the offensive led by Ingram and Valanciunas. They were getting baskets to fall so that they could cut the lead. But the Suns were not as fazed. Mikal Bridges appeared and he went on the offensive. Bridges has shown scoring spurts and this was one of those moments.

The Suns held their 10 point lead entering into the 4th quarter. During a play, Brandon Ingram had possession of the ball and was hit on his elbow by Mikal Bridges which forced him to be on the bench for …

Basket Ball / Sports

Pelicans tie Booker-less Suns with 118-103 win in Game 4

Brandon Ingram scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns — playing without injured star Devin Booker — 118-103 in Game 4 on Sunday night to tie the first-round series.

Jonas Valanciunas reasserted himself in the middle with 26 points and 15 rebounds to help the Pelicans pull even heading back to Phoenix for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Booker strained his right straight after scoring 31 first-half points in the top-seeded Suns’ Game 2 loss. Deandre Ayton led the Suns with 23 points and eight rebounds, and fellow center JaVale McGee had 14 points.

Chris Paul, who had 19-point fourth quarters in the Suns’ two playoff wins, was held to four points in 35 minutes. He had 11 assists, but committed three turnovers.

The Pelicans led 89-85 with 8:05 left and used a 12-0 run to ice it. Valanciunas, limited to six points in a Game 3 loss, scored 10 points in a 3:34 span of the fourth quarter to help the Pelicans pull away. He punctuated his scoring spree with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

…
Basket Ball / Sports

Pelicans stun Suns, 125-114, as Devin Booker gets injured

The New Orleans Pelicans’ shocking run to the 2022 NBA Playoffs took another turn Tuesday evening against the NBA-best Phoenix Suns.

Down 1-0 in the first-round playoff series after a blowout Game 1 loss, New Orleans put up a shocking performance. With a Devin Booker third quarter hamstring injury acting as a backdrop, New Orleans came out on top by the score of 125-114 in Phoenix.

It’s hard to describe exactly what happened inside Footprint Center in Arizona Tuesday evening. Losers of 46 regular-season games, New Orleans went into Phoenix and defeated the 64-win Suns by 11 points.

Former Los Angeles Lakers lottery pick Brandon Ingram put up a career-defining performance — scoring 37 points on 13-of-21 shooting. A top-10 NBA Rookie of the Year candidate, Herbert Jones added 14 points. Meanwhile, trade deadline acquisition C.J. McCollum continued his stellar performance after being obtained from Portland. The guard scored 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from distance.

Having scored 31 points in the first half, one of the NBA’s best players in Devin Booker exited the game with hamstring tightness. At that point, it was a close affair. With Booker sidelined, Phoenix yielded 35 fourth-quarter points. As double-digit underdogs heading into the game, the New Orleans Pelicans absolutely shocked the world. They won 28 fewer games than the Suns during the regular season. They have now just taken home-court advantage from a team that many expected to be odds-on favorites to win the title.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Phoenix Suns tie franchise record for wins with nail-biter over Warriors

One down, one more to go to make history and make a case for the best to ever play basketball in the Valley.

The Phoenix Suns are a win a way from setting the franchise record for victories in a single season after Wednesday’s 107-103 triumph at Golden State before a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center.

“I’m unbelievably proud of our players and our staff and I’m proud to be a part of Suns history in this way,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

Devin Booker scored 22 points on 5-for-21 shooting on as his two free throws with 34.2 seconds left put Phoenix up 102-101.

Then after Draymond Green was called for traveling, Chris Paul scored to make the difference three, 104-101, with 13.1 seconds left.

“We feel like we’ve been here before,” Paul said. “Obviously, it’s an exciting environment. playing in here, crowd going crazy and all that, but we’ve played a ton of games like that this year, last year. That trust is what helps us.”

Paul finished with 15 points as all five starters reached double figures with Mikal Bridges scoring 22, Deandre Ayton posting 16 points and 16 boards and Jae Crowder adding 10 points.

“We just stayed together,” Bridges said. “We just stayed together throughout the whole thing. We’ve got CP and Book. That’s how I always feel during those times. They’re going to take us home and we’re going to go out there there and get stops and fight all the way to the end.”

Winners of nine straight, Phoenix (62-14) tied the franchise record for wins set by the 1992-93 team led by Charles Barkley and the 2004-05 “Seven Seconds or Less” squad orchestrated by Steve Nash.

“It means a whole lot,” Booker said. “Being here seven years now and just learning more and more about the franchise and the organization and the people that have came before us and now to be up there with those ones, it feels good.”

The Suns will look to break the record Friday at …

Basket Ball / Sports

Suns drop Heat, become 1st team to clinch playoff spot

Not that there was any doubt about this, but the Phoenix Suns are going to the playoffs.

The Suns didn’t leave any doubt in a matchup of conference leaders, either.

Devin Booker scored 23 points, Mikal Bridges added 21 and the Suns shook off a slow start to beat the Miami Heat 111-90 on Wednesday night — becoming the first team this season to clinch a postseason berth.

“I told the guys it was one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “I’ve been around for a little bit.”

Booker, returning from a four-game absence for virus-related issues — he said he was asymptomatic and didn’t have any problems — flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds.

His first trip to the playoffs last season ended with a loss in the NBA Finals. He’s looking for a bit more this time.

“We know what we’re working for,” Booker said.

Phoenix improved the NBA’s best record to 53-13, and the reigning Western Conference champion Suns have now beaten all other 29 teams this season — the first time they’ve done that since 2006-07.

The Suns also avenged a 23-point loss to Miami in January.

“I’m sure they remembered that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They wanted to really make a statement tonight. They just outplayed us.”

Coming off a victory Tuesday night at Orlando, Phoenix improved its NBA-best road mark to 25-6. The Suns have an 8 1/2-game lead over Memphis and are nine games ahead of Golden State and East-leading Miami.

Deandre Ayton had 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who got 11 points and 15 rebounds from JaVale McGee, and 11 points apiece from Jae Crowder and Cameron Payne.

Duncan Robinson scored 22 points for Miami, which lost for just the third time in its last 15 games.

“They were first to the ball a lot,” Robinson said about the Suns. “They were the aggressor. … Unacceptable.”

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each scored …

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Booker scores 38 as NBA-best Suns hold off Bulls

Devin Booker scored 38 points and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns hung on to beat the Chicago Bulls 127-124 on Monday night.

The Suns led by 27 in the third quarter and withstood a push down the stretch to win for the 13th time in 14 games. They improved to 43-10 overall and a league-best 21-5 on the road.

Booker hit the 30-point mark for the third time in four games. The All-Star guard made 14 of 23 shots, including five 3-pointers.

Chris Paul added 19 points and 11 assists for Phoenix. JaVale McGee finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Mikal Bridges scored 15.

DeMar DeRozan had 38 points for the Bulls after scoring a season-high 45 in Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia. Zach LaVine added 32 points after missing two games because of back spasms.

Chicago lost for the third time in four games.

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Basket Ball / Sports

Phoenix Suns set franchise record with 18th straight win

Even with history looming as it approached a franchise record win streak, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams said he tried not to bring it up to his team.

But after a 114-103 victory Thursday night over the visiting Detroit Pistons set a franchise mark with 18 consecutive wins, Williams allowed himself time to reflect.

“But it is really cool to be a part of something like that,” Williams said. “To win like this, the way we’ve won, guys out of the rotation, losing [Devin Booker to injury], the relentless attitude of our team, the way we stick together, it makes it really cool.

“Obviously it’s hard to win in this league. But we’re not satisfied. We talk about stretching it out but it takes the right things to do that. So we’ve taken it one game at a time.”

The 18th win topped the previous franchise mark of 17 set by the 2006-07 Suns, who went on to finish 61-21. The streak also ties the 2019 Bucks for the longest of any NBA team in the last five seasons. The longest streak in NBA history belongs to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 straight games.

Suns players tried to downplay how much they thought about the streak on a day-to-day basis.

“It feels good but at the same time, I don’t know, I guess it feels good but we got another tomorrow,” Cameron Payne said. “We have to keep going. It’s 1-0 today. That’s how I feel.”

Suns point guard Chris Paul, who finished with 12 points and 12 assists, said it was a nice piece of history for the team, but the focus remains on the bigger picture.

“But for us I think it’s always about the feeling of making sure we’re playing the game the right way,” Paul said. “We always talk about we have a standard. We say this every night and a win is a win but we feel like we could have played better.”

Phoenix was without their leading scorer in Booker, who …

Basket Ball / Sports

Suns win 17th in a row to tie franchise record

On Tuesday night, the Phoenix Suns tied the franchise record for most consecutive wins with 17 of them, this most recent one being extra special as it came against the second hottest team in the league in the Golden State Warriors. The last time they won 17 straight was in the 2006-2007 season, and we’ll find out as soon as Thursday if they can officially break the record. We’ll start with the bad first, as Devin Booker exited in the middle of the second quarter with a hamstring injury, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds and one dime in 15 minutes, but he was seen on the Phoenix bench relentlessly cheering on his team despite suffering an injury mid-game. He’s had some hammy issues in the past but he’s bounced back rather nicely, and basically everyone gets a small boost if he misses time, with Chris Paul being the next man up and go-to guy. CP3 tallied a 4×5 line to the tune of 15 points (7-of-13 FGs), six rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, one 3-pointer and two turnovers in 39 minutes, and he just has not seemed to age and will remain in the first-round status that he held before this gem. Deandre Ayton feasted and was hustling up and down the court like nobody’s business, going for a team-high 24 points (11-of-19 FGs) with 11 rebounds (six offensive), two assists, one steal and two blocks with just one turnover to his name in 34 minutes. He’s still just top-60 on the season because he isn’t blocking shots, with the two tonight tying his season high, only accumulating that many on two occasions. Cam Johnson had a 14/4/2/1/1 evening with three triples and is probably the biggest direct beneficiary whenever D-Book is hurt, so feel free to stream him if Booker sits on Thursday against the Pistons (I see no reason why he wouldn’t get some extra rest even if he’s fine, given the opponent). Mikal Bridges had just two points but brought the defense with four steals and …