5 Reasons for the Phoenix Suns resurgent win over New Orleans

The Phoenix Suns did something they could not in the previous two meetings with New Orleans, complete their comeback and win.

The Phoenix Suns came from 24 points down to beat New Orleans, handing the Pelicans their third straight loss. It was not the way coach Monty Williams would design a win, but it was a win nonetheless. A win powered by a big night and some team basketball after another tough start.

How the Suns fell behind

The Suns started hitting their first three field shots, including three-pointers from Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges. While Booker maintained his tough for the rest of the half, Bridges shot left him, as the Suns struggled to score again. And as was common-place during Phoenix’s five-game losing streak, the defense was poor, giving up 34 first-quarter points.

Although the Suns were marginally better defensively in the second quarter, conceding just 29 points, Phoenix was terrible offensively, scoring 19 as a team. For a little perspective, Booker would score 20 by himself in the third quarter, so clearly, it was a terrible performance.  Down 17 at the break, something had to give, and it did as the Suns made a big comeback.

Reason 1 – McCollum’s hot hand cooled off

After making almost every shot he took in the first half, CJ McCollum cooled off considerably in the second half. McCollum was even outshooting DBook in the first half, leading all scorers with 24 points. However, McCollum would only make one shoot in the second half and finished the game with 27 points.

While 27 points is a good night for any NBA player, after having 24 in the first half, it was a disappointing close for McCollum from a Pelican’s perspective. Nevertheless, McCollum losing the range opened the door for Booker and the Suns to come back and win.