Suns fire Watson after 0-3 start to the season
Timberwolves grab win at the buzzer vs. Thunder
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have fired coach Earl Watson just three games in to the NBA season.
The Suns announced the firing Sunday night after hours of meetings at the team’s headquarters.
Assistant coach Jay Triano, a former head coach of the Toronto Raptors, was named interim coach. Triano was an assistant at Portland before coming to Phoenix last year.
Watson was promoted from assistant to interim coach of the Suns after Jeff Hornacek was fired Feb. 1, 2016. The interim tag was removed on April 19 of that year. With an extremely young team, the Suns struggled under Watson. He compiled a 33-85 record. Watson’s only full season was 2016-17, when the team went 24-58.
The 38-year-old Watson played collegiately at UCLA and in the NBA for 10 seasons. He often spoke of his long talks with John Wooden, emphasized togetherness and a family atmosphere to nurture the young squad but wins were hard to come by.
And owner Robert Sarver apparently didn’t like what he saw. Phoenix is 0-3 and two of the losses were especially ugly. The Suns were blown out 124-76 by Portland in their season opener Wednesday night, the most one-sided loss in franchise history and the most one-sided season opener for any NBA team.
Phoenix was routed by the Clippers in Los Angeles 130-88 on Saturday night.
“I Dont wanna be here,” point guard Eric Bledsoe tweeted Sunday, just as the news of Watson’s firing surfaced in an ESPN report. The tweet by Bledsoe, a former Clipper, was followed by one from the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan saying “Come back home bro.”
Sunday’s games
TIMBERWOLVES 115, THUNDER 113: In Oklahoma City, Andrew Wiggins banked in a 3-pointer from a few steps inside halfcourt as time expired to give Minnesota a victory over the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony hit a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left to give the Thunder the lead before the
Timberwolves inbounded to Wiggins, who rushed up the court and got free with help from a crushing pick by KarlAnthony Towns before pulling up for the winner.
Wiggins scored 27 points and Towns had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota.
NETS 116, HAWKS 104: In New York, Allen Crabbe scored 20 points to help Brooklyn beat Atlanta.
DeMarre Carroll added 17 points and Caris LeVert and D’Angelo Russell each had 16 points. The Nets improved to 2-1 with their second straight victory.
PELICANS 99, LAKERS 95: In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis scored 27 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 20 and the Pelicans withstood a furious rally to beat the Lakers for their first victory of the season.
The Pelicans led by 22 points in the second quarter and were still up by double figures heading into the final period, but the Lakers made a charge despite a poor shooting night from rookie Lonzo Ball.
Reserve Jordan Clarkson had 24 points for the Lakers, but Ball shot just 3 for 13 for eight points. He did have 13 assists and eight rebounds.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points in his first appearance for the Lakers.