After OT thriller, Suns face Embiid, 76ers
Monty Williams viewed this daunting five-game East Coast road trip as another opportunity for the Phoenix Suns to further unite.
“We just try to take advantage of the time we have together, especially with the restriction and being together so much, it’s a way for us to bond even,” he said. “Talk more about our team, our personal stuff. These long road trips tend to allow for those organic conversations, whether it being in practice or at the hotel or on the bus or plane, those are just really good times.”
The Suns (41-16) look to be together weeks beyond the regular season.
“We hope to be with each other for a long, long time,” Williams said.
Phoenix started the road trip with a 128-127 overtime win Monday at Milwaukee. Devin Booker hit a free throw after P.J. Tucker was called for a foul as time expired.
After the play was reviewed, 0.3 seconds were put back on the clock, giving Booker, an 86.1% free throw shooter, a chance to win the game at the line.
He hit the first, then missed the second on purpose as time expired.
The free throw capped a night in which Chris Paul passed Hall of Famer Magic Johnson to become fifth on the NBA all-time assists list, and the Suns rallied from seven points down late in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Here’s a look back at the OT win and ahead to a back-to-back beginning Wednesday at Philadelphia (39-18), which has the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Paul certainly deserved to tuck that game ball under his arm after passing Johnson on the all-time assists list.
“It’s surreal,” Paul said. “I think it’s dope that my kids get an opportunity to see what’s going on.”
Paul not only finished with 13 assists to give him 10,145, four more than Johnson’s 10,141, but scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The 11-time All-Star and 16-year veteran now has 18 double-doubles this season.
Deandre Ayton posted his 31st double-double after a 20-point, 13-rebound effort. He did an admirable job guarding two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored a gamehigh 33, but only had four points in the fourth.
Clutch 3s
There might have been a different outcome had Antetokounmpo returned from calf cramps that kept him out of the final four minutes of overtime, but Ayton held his own.
However, Bridges hit the two biggest 3s of the night for Phoenix in scoring 21 points.
Going 5-of-7 from deep for the game, Bridges hit a 3 to tie the game at 109-109 with 2:55 remaining in regulation to cap a 7-0 run.
Then his final 3 gave Phoenix an 127124 lead with 25.9 seconds left in OT.
Now Paul found Bridges on that 3 in regulation, but if Bridges misses, Milwaukee remains up 3 looking to close out the game.
‘We were flat’
This road rougher.
Up next is Philadelphia in the first of a back-to-back, with Boston on deck.
The Suns beat both in Phoenix during their 6-1 run through East teams in a seven-game homestand in February. The Sixers might still be without Ben Simmons, who missed Monday’s home loss to Golden State with a non-COVID-19 illness, but still have MVP candidate Joel Embiid doing MVP-caliber work.
Averaging career highs in points (29.9), field-goal percentage (51.2%) and
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get 3-point percentage (37.8%) to go along with 11.2 rebounds a game, Embiid went for 35 points in the first matchup in Phoenix, with 16 coming in the fourth, but the 76ers committed six turnovers that led to 15 Suns points in the quarter.
The rematch between two of the NBA’s top three teams comes after AllUniverse Steph Curry went off again for 49 points fueled by 10 3s in leading the Warriors past the 76ers.
Facing Embiid
The 76ers are 15th in the NBA in offensive rating, 3-point percentage and 14th in points per game, but ninth in overall shooting percentage.
They shoot 65.5% on 2-point shots to rank sixth in that category. While Embiid can score at will inside, if he desires, his ability to get to the line is a dilemma for opponents.
Second only to Antetokounmpo in total free throw attempts, Embiid has only nine fewer (471 to 462), but has played in nine fewer games (48 to 39). He shot 9of-10 against Phoenix, going 5-of-6 in the fourth.
While Ayton did a standout job keeping Antetokounmpo in front Monday, Embiid is a far better perimeter shooter and can use his strength to power through him. How Ayton fares against Embiid and Nikola Jokic gives indication of where he is as a player.
‘We tried to get there’
From there, Phoenix has a date at Boston (31-27), which will have two days between Monday’s loss to Chicago and Thursday’s rematch with the Suns.
The Celtics had won six straight before falling to the Bulls, who were without All-Star Zach Lavine (health and safety protocols).