Suns wrangle Bulls, time to downshift Pistons

After the Suns finished their recent extended home stand (minus a single road game tucked in the middle) 2-7, early season dreams of possibly making a miracle run to the playoffs were put on ice.

Fortunatey, whether or not they make a run at the playoffs, the players don’t seem to be fazed as they have been bringing a competitive fire to nearly every game. Tonight in Chicago – home of the greatest game in NBA History, game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals – the team played a hard, competitive game, and managed to come out on top due to three particularly impressive performances.

While the first half was a back and forth affair, and the Suns seemed like they were capable of blowing the Bulls out of the Windy City, they were never quite able to pull away. In fact, after a hot scoring first quarter in which the two teams combined for 23-45 from the field, both teams fell ice cold in the second, draining a combined 3-18 from three, and a total of 32 points.

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At half Devin Booker led all scorers with 14 points, while T.J. Warren for the Suns, and Justin Holiday and Kris Dunn for the Bulls, each scored 11.

Alex Len, coming off of a DNP-CD and making some public comments about his unhappiness with those occasional days off, too had an impressive half grabbing 10 boards.

While the second half stats shows that Phoenix only outscored the Bulls 58-56, the Suns would take several large and commanding leads, going up by as many as 15 midway through the fourth quarter, seemingly on the verge of putting the Bulls away for good. But, as these young Suns have done on many occasions so far, they can take a lead, they just don’t know how to hold onto it.

Fortunately this was a learning opportunity that did not slip away from them as they would show the necessary fortitude and fire to hold off the late Bulls stampede.

Not only would Chicago charge back each and every time Phoenix took a double-digit lead, they managed to sneak to within three points of the Suns, 102-99, with only 22.5 seconds remaining. But after Lauri Markkanen hit the bucket that slimmed the lead to three, fortune would once again be on the side of the Suns as Chicago was unable to foul for seven seconds, and when they did, they hacked T.J. Warren who drained both free throws putting the game on ice.

For the Suns, Devin Booker finished with 33 points, breaking the 30-point barrier for the 8th time this season, and 28th time in his career (14 times is his career-high, set last season).

His scoring wasn’t all that he brought to the table this evening though, as he put together a very well-rounded game, a pleasant sight especially coming off of the missed game against Minnesota due to the toe injury. Book grabbed 9 boards, the second most by any player on the night, dished out 4 assists, drained 8-10 from the free throw line, and made 5-9 from beyond the arc, falling one short of his career-high 6. He too had a VERY impressive and important block on a Kris Dunn fastbreak layup with 24.4 seconds remaining, and the Suns clinging to a 5-point lead.

T.J. Warren had another T.J. Warren-type night with 25 points on 10-20 from the field. He also attempted a career-high tying 5 shots from beyond he arc, although he drained only 1, his first. Warren also finished with 7 boards and a single steal.

Alex Len recorded his team-high 4th double-double of the season while most impressively snagging 18 boards tonight, tying his career-high, which he most recently tied on November 17, at the Lakers.

The Suns next face the Detroit Pistons tonight, the Eastern Conference’s second best team, by record, sitting at 13-6, and winners of three out of their last four.

In their last game, against Boston on Monday night, Andre Drummond did something that has only happened twice in the past 55 years. Prior to Drummond it was last accomplished by a former superstar for the Phoenix Suns (before he was a Sun):

Drummond is having a superb season so far, averaging 14.4 points and 15.6 rebounds, the boards average not only lead the league but would be a career-high. His free throw shooting has been impressive too, all things considered, as he is averaging 61.8% from the line, far and away a career-high percentage. If there is one flaw to his game this season over years past it is that he is averaging a career-high 3.5 turnovers per game, his previous high coming last season at only 1.9.

Because of Drummond’s performance this season, the Suns may have to throw every center they’ve got on their active roster at him. Greg Monroe, who didn’t play against Chicago (presumably because it was the first leg of a back-to-back), will almost certainly play against the Pistons, his former team, with his main objective to box out Drummond.

Next: Future Phoenix Suns Prospects Update

Detroit, playing with their traditional east coast slogging style, averages only 104.5 points per game, while allowing their opponents a paltry 102.2. Phoenix held the Chicago Bulls to 99 points, only the third time all season that they have held an opponent under 100, and they have not done so in back-to-back games yet this year.