Recap: Suns 97 Nuggets 89: Dragic is back

Phoenix– The Phoenix Suns starters blitzed the Denver Nuggets starting unit in the second half and cruised to a 97-89 win in their second preseason contest of the year.

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek emphasized before the game that he wanted a better effort from his starters, and he got that out of them tonight.

“That first group we got in there with Anthony Tolliver– they were moving the ball a little bit quicker,” Hornacek said. ” Anthony keeps it spread out, so we will continue to play with it and see what works best.”

Tolliver, playing in his first game after missing Wednesday night due to a hand injury, hit his first three point attempt just 12 seconds into the game. He finished with 10 points on 3-8 shooting.

After playing to a 29-29 draw in the first quarter, the second unit led by Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas sparked the Suns to a lead they never relinquished. Green finished with 11 points, all of them in the second quarter.

Defensively, it was PJ Tucker setting the tone as usual. He led the team with 10 rebounds and provided energy that sparked the starting unit. First round pick TJ Warren also had a nice night, scoring 10 points on 4-8 shooting.

Let’s take a look at what Kevin Zimmerman wanted to watch tonight.

Three vs. three

Hornacek mentioned that he may throw the Suns trio of Bledsoe, Dragic and Thomas onto the floor together, but it did not happen tonight. The closest we got to a three guard lineup was a couple minute stretch in the second with Archie Goodwin, Thomas and Green. Hornacek played 16 players tonight and mentioned that there may not be a set rotation with this team.

“Those two guys are scorers,” Hornacek said. “Isiaah knows the game, he has a smart Basketball IQ. Again, we have a deep bench, a lot of guys that can play.

“You would like to say you have a set rotation, but I don’t think it will be like that on this team. It will probably be more on feel and who is palying well together. Guys can’t worry about that and, the next game will be there game, who knows.”

What’s up with Dragon?

Good things. Very good things.

Dragic came out of the gates running, scoring four quick points and setting the tone early for the Suns. Hornacek mentioned that there was an added emphasis on tonight to start strong, and Dragic made sure of it. The starting group only led by a couple of points due to foul trouble when they exited with 2:26 remaining in the first. Fouls kept them from pushing the tempo at any consistent pace in the first quarter.

The starters did not play again until the second half, which was when they blitzed the Nuggets starters. Phoenix extended their six point lead to 13 thanks to a 12-5 run that was highlighted by nine Dragic and Bledsoe points. The Dragon was slicing and dicing like his usual self, looking nothing like the sluggish Dragon on Wednesday against Flamengo. Dragic finished with 12 points on 5-9 shooting in 20 minutes.

“”I felt great today,” Dragic said. “We know those guys like to run and we did it back.

“I stil think that we could score more, we missed some open shots, but in the end I think we played well. It doesn’t matter though, it’s only preseason. Tomorrow we go back to practice and we will try to work hard and try to get better.”

What could’ve been the highlight of Dragic’s night was ruined, thanks to his brother. The Dragic brothers played together for the first time late in the third quarter and almost had a memory to remember. Coming out of a timeout, Goran pushed the ball quickly up the court and threw a bounce pass to a streaking Zoran for a layup… unfortunately the ball rimmed out.

Will the older brother give his younger brother a hard time over it?

“No,” Goran said. “He is already because he missed it so I won’t make it worse.”

Will Markieff keep it simple?

Nah, it was a bit complicated.

Morris was nearly nonexistent– except for his technical foul– in the first half. His only points came on two free throws and grabbed a lone rebound. You can’t blame him too much for his quiet first half. That’s because Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas were putting on a show, as they scored 13 straight at one point.

In the second half Morris exerted himself into the game, promptly knocking down a 15 footer and then a three pointer on back-to-back possessions. He finished the night with 12 points, going 2-3 from behind the arch.

Notable:

Anthony Tolliver played tonight’s game with his stitches in his shooting hand. He got them taken out after the game, said that they affected his shot tonight. He couldn’t grip the ball the way he would like to.

Danilo Gallinari played in his first game for the Nuggets since tearing his ACL in April of 2013. He looked as healthy as can be, scoring 17 points in 14 minutes of  play.

Quotable:

“Obviously, got a taste of it in practice,” Anthony Tolliver said on playing with Dragic and Bledsoe. “I told Goran after the game I may lead the league in three pointers attempted and made this year because I am going to get a lot of open shots. I told him anytime I am open I will put it up.”