After blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead, Mikal Bridges broke out in overtime to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 128-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The good news is that after weeks of terrible first quarters, Phoenix had their opening game yips behind them after a strong 33-26 first quarter Saturday evening in San Antonio. The bad news is that the Suns are back to blowing things late, giving up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to the lowly Spurs. Fortunately, San Antonio could not find the winner, and in overtime, Bridges and Phoenix took over the game to grind out the win.
The Suns made their point early again San Antonio
Two things have occurred in the last couple of weeks, which have changed the Phoenix Suns’ backcourt and had them in control for most of Saturday evening. First, Saban Lee joined the Suns, demonstrating aggression toward the bucket and sound decision-making to take many backup point guard minutes. The second was the return of Chris Paul.
Against the Spurs, it was Paul and Lee running the show. In the first quarter alone, the pair combined for 11 points, as Lee came on and scored a quick five points to help the Suns close the quarter strong.
The excellent start carried over most of the game as Paul led all players with 31 points and 11 assists. Lee finished with just seven points, but he also threw in three assists and zero turnovers in about 14 minutes of basketball.
The Suns were cruising until the fourth quarter, when San Antonio suddenly came alive, outscoring Phoenix 34-23 to send the game into overtime. While the Spurs never led in the game, they came close and had a chance to win but missed three shots in the last six seconds of the game.
Mikal made overtime his game for Phoenix
Entering overtime, the momentum and the crowd were both with San Antonio. Unfortunately for Spurs fans, Bridges was in the building, and he took over the game. Offensively, Bridges scored eight straight for the Suns, turning a two-point lead into a six-point lead in about two minutes.
Bridges displayed a bit of everything offensively in the run. Mikal made a couple of free throws, hit a fadeaway, and even scored on a nicely designed play. Without hitting a three-pointer, Bridges stretched the Suns’ lead.
Beyond his clutch scoring, Mikal also had a massive block with less than a minute to go to help preserve the Suns’ lead. In the end, the game was closer than it should have been, but thanks to Bridges and Paul, Phoenix did what they needed to do and won the game.