Although Monday night’s game against the Celtics ended in a loss, the Suns showed that they’ll be fighting hard during the final stretch.
There’s under two minutes left in the first quarter. The Suns are down 29-11 and all 11 points have been scored by Josh Jackson. In a game without Devin Booker or T.J. Warren, it makes sense that the offense would be run through Josh. But it’s been ten minutes, and only Josh has scored.
There’s under ten minutes left in the half, and the Celtics lead 39-19. Already down 20, this felt like another horrible loss waiting to happen. Except, something changes. Turns out, this game won’t end like that at all.
Phoenix Suns
Little by little the Suns fought their way back into this game. Sure, the Celtics wound up winning 102-94, but this game could’ve ended a lot differently. It may not count as a win, but this one should be considered a win.
The Suns were down 20 not even two full quarters into this game. They could’ve gotten discouraged, or given up considering who they were playing without, but they didn’t. This could’ve been another loss by an exponentially growing amount, but it wasn’t.
Instead these guys played with passion and fire, when I’m sure most people began to doubt them, and came all the way back to take the lead in the early minutes of the third quarter.
This game was a victory.
Down 20 early, the Suns would go on a 26-9 run to close out the half. This stretch, even though it may have tired them out a bit, was what made this game fun for me. We’ve seen it quite a few times this season, when a young team is down by this much early on, the offense and defense could disappear. This time, it didn’t.
In fact, I think the defense was even better at this point, and obviously the offense was too. Everyone that played in that second quarter played with fire and an impressive level of energy. They say energy is contagious, and when it was sitting on the bench all season maybe it made that difficult. But Alan Williams‘ innate energy and passion was sure contagious tonight now that he was back on the floor.
His shot may not be there yet, but his presence was. Clearly that’s what matters right now. He sent positive vibes throughout that arena and even through television screens to everyone that was watching. When he entered the game, it didn’t feel like just any other late March match up.
As a whole, these guys were making hustle plays and playing great defense, especially during that middle to periods. It felt like everyone was active and getting involved; from Marquese Chriss to Tyler Ulis to Big Sauce Alan Williams. This is what the Suns need to see for the remainder of the season.
No, Phoenix didn’t win the game, but they definitely took a step in the right direction. This is one to build on for sure, and hopefully it serves as another confidence boost. They played hard until the end, and that’s a big positive.
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Maybe the Suns would’ve won this game if it weren’t for the slow start or fourth quarter turnovers (they had five of their 15 in the final stanza), but that’s part of what comes with a young team. There will be growing pains, we know that and we’ve seen that. You just have to believe it is only a matter of time before everything comes together perfectly.
Until then, we should be proud of our Suns. They’re showing fight and desire, and definitely hope for a bright future.