Suns get ‘must win’ over Magic
The Phoenix Suns earned a muchneeded win Thursday night, 116-113, over Orlando to snap a three-game skid before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.
Josh Okogie blocked top overall pick Paolo Banchero’s 3-point attempt with 3.1 seconds left as time expired.
The Suns (38-32) had five players reach double figures with Devin Booker scoring a team-high 19 points with 16 coming in the second half.
Cameron Payne went for 18 points off the bench, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton each had 16 while Okogie added 15.
“It was a big-time win,” Payne said. “It was a must win I feel like. We lost three in a row. That’s not really normal for us. We needed one.”
Kevin Durant was in attendance, but he remains out with a left ankle sprain.
Markelle Fultz scored a game-high 25 to lead the Magic (28-42), a young team that made costly mistakes that played a major role in the outcome.
Booker’s load
After a 1-of-5 first half for three points that include him picking up a technical foul in a second straight game, Booker opened the second half with a running hook that dropped.
Then he started heating up a little bit in shooting 6-of-12 from the field in the second half.
He found some pick-and-roll success with Paul and got left wide open for a jumper, but he appeared to be grimacing or laboring.
Suns coach Monty Williams called it “soreness,” saying he played his All-Star shooting guard too many minutes (43) in the second of a back-to-back Tuesday at Milwaukee.
He followed that up with 36 on Thursday. That’s too many, especially when facing an Orlando team the Suns should’ve handled.
Booker is averaging 36.1 minutes in eight games in March. That’s another form of madness.
Shaky ending
Okogie came up with the huge block at the end, but Franz Wagner passed up a 3 to swing it to Banchero.
Why?
He had just hit a 3 to tie the game at 101-101 with 5:52 left.
Booker was in the contesting area, but Wagner had enough room to launch.
The Magic had six turnovers in the fourth quarter, but the more experienced Suns committed five with Jock Landale committing two while Payne, Booker and Okogie each had one.
Booker’s came with 16.3 seconds left, but he had the presence to foul Fultz with Phoenix up three.
That started the free throw game Phoenix likes to play that they won again as Terrence Ross hit a pair against his former team with 6.1 seconds remaining to end the scoring.
Ayton’s groin
He hurt it on a contested rebounded and played through it, but Ayton left the arena with a noticeable limp.
Taking a picture with actress Emma Stone, who is a fan of his, brought a smile to his face, but Ayton was certainly feeling the effects of the injury.
Williams said Ayton had a “pain face”
look that anyone in the arena could see.
For a team that’s already down Durant, another injury wouldn’t help matters at all.
Lucky 7
Chalk it up to lack of experience maybe, but Orlando fouled at the end of first and second quarter that led to seven Phoenix points.
The Suns lead by five at the half, 6358.
End of 1st: Cole Anthony fouled Payne on a 3 that Payne hit with 0.3 seconds left in the quarter. Payne hit the ensuing free throw to pull Phoenix within after trailing by as many as six.
End of 2nd: Okogie heaved it from halfcourt as Fultz fouled him right at the buzzer. The play was reviewed and determined Fultz fouled him before the final buzzer to end the half.
With one second put back on
the
clock, Okogie hit all three free throws to put Phoenix up five at the half.
When the game ends with a threepoint differential, the loser feels sick. The Magic should feel even worse. They racked up 26 fast break points to Phoenix’s two, won the points in the paint battle (58 to 40) and shot 50% from the field, but had 19 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Suns.
On the road
The Suns begin a three-game road stretch Sunday at Oklahoma City, continue it Wednesday at the Los Angeles Lakers and end it Friday at Sacramento.
The Kings (42-27), who just beat them last week in Phoenix, are second in the West, just a half game ahead of the Grizzlies and looking to even the headto-head series with the Suns.
The Lakers (33-36) and Thunder (33-36) are ninth and 10th in the West.
Unlike the Magic, the Kings, Lakers and Thunder have something to play for going into this final stretch of games as far as the playoffs.
The Lakers and Thunder are in the final two play-in slots right now.
The Suns don’t want to be in the playin.
With 12 games left, they are three games ahead of Minnesota (35-35) and Dallas (35-35).
Durant will likely be back before the end of the regular season, but Phoenix has some serious challenges ahead without him beginning with that three-game road stretch.
History isn’t kind to play-in teams in the eighth slot that need to lose twice to miss the postseason.
2021 – Golden State lost at the Lakers and at home versus the nine seed Grizzlies for the eighth and final seed.
2022 – Los Angeles Clippers dropped one at Minnesota and another at home to nine seed New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot.
If the Suns wind up in the play-in, there is no guarantee they’ll come out of it in the postseason.
The play-in tournament is not the playoffs. It’s an opportunity to play your way into the playoffs.
Big difference.