Triumph! Tyler Turns Thomas Turnover into Three (Wins)!

If the Suns are going to screw up the tank and convert their first three-game winning streak in 475 days, they might as well do so in style.

With only 11.9 seconds remaining, Isaiah Thomas missed one of two free throws putting the Celtics up 106-104, but giving the Suns a chance to tie or win. Eric Bledsoe took the conservative rout and went baseline-to-baseline nailing a layup to tie the game with 4.0 seconds remaining.

With no timeouts, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas were not on the same page on the ensuing inbound pass. Thomas wanted to get the ball up court quickly, but Crowder hesitated and tried to roll it to allow Thomas more time. The problem for both players was that the Suns were pressing to force Thomas to dribble up court and waste time, and in the confusion of the moment, Crowder threw the ball off of Thomas’ foot.

With Tyle Ulis guarding on-ball, he grabbed it, rolled out towards the three-point line, took one dribble, turned, fired, and…

The shot resulted in a Phoenix 109-106 victory, the team’s third win in a row (more on that in a moment), but also the third game winning shot this season, which according to @ESPNStatsInfo, leads the league.

Trailing to Boston by as many as 11, Phoenix used a 22-7 run in the final 4:58 of the second quarter to take a solid seven-point lead at the half. The Suns had been up by ten until Rozier nailed a three with 15.4 remaining.

Playing with seemingly unlimited energy, the Young Suns looked to run away with the game as just over mid-way through the third quarter Phoenix built a 15-point advantage, the largest by either team. Boston battled back to cut the lead to four so start the fourth, a period which might as well be dubbed “IT’s quarter” for Thomas’ dominance of the final frame.

Dominate Thomas would do. The Celtics were short Al Horford and Avery Bradley for this game already, leaving Thomas to carry the load, which he did, nearly single-handedly willing the Celtics to a 93-91 lead with 4:41 remaining following a Thomas three for his 30th point, and his 5th outside shot of the game.

Playing in crunch time once again, Tyler Ulis and Alan Williams helped Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe, and T.J. Warren fight off the playoff bound Celtics, allowing the eventual game winning three from Ulis to occur, and send Suns fans out into the beautiful Phoenix weather ecstatic.

In the victory, Mr. Double-Double himself, Big Sauce, Alan Williams, recorded his third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds, adding 2 steals and a block for good measure. Phoenix is 5-2 in games that Williams records a double-double.

Game winning shot maker Tyler Ulis scored a career-high 20 points on 8-12 from the floor and 5 assists. Ulis has now bested his personal scoring high twice in his last two games, and three times in the past three weeks.

Eric Bledsoe led the Suns in scoring with 28 points, while dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds. Bledsoe’s smart play in the final 41 seconds allowed for Ulis to have the opportunity to win as he scored on two coast-to-coast layups (including the one that tied the game at 106) rather than forcing up an outside shot or taking contested pull-ups.

Marquese Chriss scored 10 points and snagged 6 rebounds in 25 minutes, but it was his defense that stole the show. Blocking five Boston shots, which also set his career-high, he tied the record for most blocks in a game by a Suns rookie previously held solely by the power forward formally known as Amare Stoudemire.

T.J. Warren scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, his third consecuitve game of at least those stats, and sixth straight of at least 14 points and 5 caroms.

Boston was of course led by Isaiah Thomas who scored 35 points. The Celtics as a whole finished with a 37.6% field goal percentage so Thomas did not have many opportunities to dish the ball out for an assist, and would only record 5. Jae Crowder recorded the Celtics’ only double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, but his lone turnover of the game was the most costly.

Now back to the streak for a moment.

By winning the last three games, the Suns have broken two records – one franchise-based, and one personal. This victory ended the longest streak in team history between three-game winning streaks. And:

as well as

For a brief video recap:

https://twitter.com/Suns/status/838581156849164288?s=01

And by the way Tankers, we hear here, and most of us at the Valley of the Suns sympathize with you. Phoenix is still 2.0 game behind Orlando, 2.5 behind Philadelphia and New Orleans, and 3.5 behind Minnesota and Sacramento.

However, after the Washington game on Tuesday, the Suns play eight consecutive games against current non-playoff teams before they play Boston once again on March 24.