The Phoenix Suns pulled out an incredible win against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, coming from 15 points behind to seal the victory.
Wow. What a ridiculously insane game that was. In one of the more unlikely comebacks in recent memory, the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-115 to move to 2-0 within the Disney bubble, and creep a little closer to the teams above them in the standings.
As I said in the post-game article from the Washington Wizards game, the Suns have to treat this like the NCAA tournament where every game could be the last of their season. Survive and advance is the name of the game and that is exactly what they did Sunday night.
In this theatrical event, each quarter served as its own separate dramatic play.
In the first act, the Mavericks came out of the gate aggressive and in attack mode whereas the Suns did not. Dallas had all five players outside the 3-point line and simply continued to drive right by whoever was attempting to guard them. It led to a multitude of layups and free throws and it seemed like the Mavs could get to the rim at ease whenever they wanted.
The second quarter resulted in significant foul trouble for Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, many of which were drawn by the player we shall not speak of (kidding, it was Luka Doncic) and the Suns went into the half down 13 points after giving up a whopping 73 points in the first half.
Doom and gloom lingered in the third quarter when both Ayton and Booker picked up their 5th fouls forcing them to the bench, but it was Jevon Carter and Cameron Payne with a serious of huge pull-up 3s and suddenly gave the Suns the lead.
The Suns held on in the fourth after a serious amount of missed 3s from Dallas (Suns fans thank them for that 6-31 shooting performance, by the way) including an off-the-mark would-be buzzer-beater by Tim Hardaway.
On top of the drama of the score, each
actor
player had his own story. Let’s break down how each of them performed and dole out grades to everyone who saw action:
Rubio’s play cannot go understated
Grade: A+
It is easy to laud the 3-pointers from Cameron Payne and Jevon Carter in the third quarter right after Ayton and Booker picked up their fifth fouls, but the burst comeback that consisted of an incredible 14-1 run was led, controlled, and facilitated by a one, Ricky Rubio.
The Spanish Maestro took over, looking for his opportunity to score more than he typically does and showing that a true veteran floor general is something absolutely invaluable to this team.
Rubio finished with 20 points, seven assists, and nine rebounds. More importantly, he led the team in +/- with a rating of +12 when he was on the court.
And don’t tell anybody this because it would certainly clash with the image he tries to portray and break this never-too-high-never-too-low credo, but when the Suns took the lead he let out a primal yell and flex combination that definitely dipped into the emotionally high range.
We’ll forgive you, Ricky. Great game.
Booker overcame foul trouble to achieve milestone
Grade: A-
Chalk up another run-of-the-mill, 30-point game for Devin Armani Booker.
Really though, to eke out 30 points out of this wild game was truly a sight to behold considering he managed to do so while in foul trouble for the entirety of the contest.
Look, Luka Doncic is a great player. Just like James Harden, he is an offensive wizard, and his ability to make defenders look foolish is uncanny. Having said that, there are several plays where he doesn’t even attempt to score and makes his primary mission to draw a foul.
Unfortunately, it often works.
Because of this ability to do this well, it then leads to referees expecting him to draw the foul and are thus they much quicker on their whistles than they would be if, oh, I don’t know, say, Devin Booker tried to make a similar move.
Booker fell victim to a few Doncic-friendly whistles and at one point in the second quarter played like the Booker of yesteryear. With nothing going the Suns’ way, he played ticked off and as if he was the only person capable of leading his team to victory.
Sometimes that mentality works out, and other times it doesn’t, but he’ll be the first to tell you that regardless of his 30 points, this win belongs to his teammates.
Booker moved up to second all-time in franchise history in total number of 30-point games with 87, passing Amar’e Stoudemire and is now just three games shy of Walter Davis. More impressively, however, Booker has accomplished this feat in just 336 games while it took Stoudemire and Davis 516 and 766 games respectively to reach their milestones.
Have a game, Cam Johnson
Grade: A
If Cameron Johnson is to play the power forward position, he is going to have to rebound, and rebound is exactly what he did against the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson notched his first career double-double, pouring in 20 points and grabbing a team-high 12 boards.
Cam had his usual hot hand from behind the arc, hitting four of his eight attempts and hustled after several rebounds he typically doesn’t get.
He also found himself switched on Luka several times and for the most part, played disciplined defense, using his length and lateral quickness to limit Doncic while staying on his feet and not falling for any of his head fakes.
If he can keep up this level of play, then he will make a lot of fans and pundits alike eat their words when they criticized the team for drafting him 11th overall in the 2019 draft.
Ayton full of fouls and timidity
Grade: D
One of the major questions coming into this game was whether or not Deandre would use all the Luka-Ayton draft discussion as a motivator and play like he did in Dallas back in January when he had a season-high 31 points.
The answer to that question was no.
Ayton looked unsure, timid, and borderline nervous much of the game. The play that most exemplified this came early on. He had the ball at the top of the key and Kristaps Porzingis sagged off of him, almost daring him to shoot it. Instead of taking the open 3, he dribbled into the paint and then back out, ultimately settling for a fadeaway sideline midrange jumper.
Needless to say, it did not go in.
Those are the types of plays that are frustrating, especially now that he has shown to be capable of knocking down that 3. If it is there, he has to take it. That is a much higher percentage shot than a fadeaway sideline jumper.
Ayton missed his 3-point attempt later in the game as well as most of his standard quick-triggered elbow jumpers. He finished with just seven points and eight rebounds in only 21 foul-plagued minutes.
Once he gets in foul trouble, he plays even less-assertive than usual, which is a recipe for an underwhelming performance.
Bridges came back to Earth
Grade: B
Going into this game, perhaps no one in the entire NBA had shown more improvement over the hiatus than Mikal Bridges. He turned himself into a budding star and a do-it-all Swiss Army Knife for the Phoenix Suns.
Against the Mavericks, he came back to Earth a bit.
It wasn’t that Bridges had a bad game. He didn’t. It just wasn’t what we have grown accustomed to seeing lately.
Even though the man he was guarding most of the game had 40 points, he played solid defense. Because Bridges is the team’s best defender, he is going to guard the opposing team’s best player every game. For this contest, it was Luka Doncic.
His on-ball defense, for the most part, was solid but often the Mavericks screened him which resulted in a switch and subsequent mismatch Doncic took advantage of.
Bridges finished the game with three blocks and two steals, but guarding Luka took it out of him on the offensive side of the court as the confident and aggressive version of Bridges we saw was rarely seen. He mustered a team-low four points, one rebound, and one assist.
Still, his value is immeasurable and this team doesn’t win this game without him.
Dario just keeps playing
Grade: B+
Dario Saric keeps on doing good things for the Phoenix Suns, and he is going to make the decision on his impending restricted free agency a tough one.
After losing his starting lineup spot to Mikal Bridges and then again to Cameron Johnson, Saric keeps coming off the bench and providing hustle, energy, and a viable scoring option, which is exactly what the second unit needs.
In this game, he had 13 points and eight rebounds, including a huge corner 3 during the Suns’ tremendous third-quarter comeback.
He also played Porzingis about as well as he could, as he slid into the 5-spot for a long stretch when Ayton was in foul trouble and Kaminsky was on the bench.
Dario is another guy who isn’t flashy, but his play makes it difficult for Monty to keep him off the floor.
Cheers to the backup point guards
Carter Grade: A
Payne Grade: A-
It appears Monty Williams has finally found his backup point guards for the next six games. Cameron Payne and Jevon Carter hit a couple of big 3s during that 14-1 spurt that got the Suns back into the game during the third quarter, but they did more than just that.
Payne’s aggressiveness was huge coming off the bench, and while my instinct is to flinch a bit when I see he had 10 shots (more than Bridges, Ayton, and Saric), you have to appreciate the attack mentality.
As for Jevon Carter, I’m not sure how Monty Williams can keep him off the court. On top of his standard intense on-ball defense and knocking down of open shots, the Bulldog dished out five assists, one shy of his career-high. Moreover, he posted a +/- of +11 and during one exchange, got under the skin of Luka Doncic to the point of drawing an offensive foul from a frustrated elbow to the chest.
The man is absolutely relentless and is the exact type of player you love to have on your team, yet hate to play against.
Unless the Phoenix Suns drop multiple games and the bubble turns into the developmental team the Suns will soon no longer have, Ty Jerome and Elie Okobo may as well get comfortable on the sidelines. Payne and Carter have seized rotation minutes for their own.
Kaminsky still looks rusty
Grade: C
Remember, these are the first basketball games Frank Kaminsky has played since December. He fractured his patella, went through intense rehab, and now he is playing like a guy who fractured his patella and is just coming back from intense rehab.
Against the Mavericks, he did have eight points in just nine minutes of action, but his three field goals came by way of masterful passes and tip-ins, not strong offensive moves. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts, and in general, looked rusty.
It will be interesting to see if/when Aron Baynes feels comfortable enough to come back and reclaim those minutes for his own.
Overall, this game deserves a grade of A+ from an entertainment standpoint. Like a Broadway play, this was an emotional roller coaster full of adversity, underdogs, and eventual triumph. Sunday night was a good day to be a Phoenix Sun fan.