Risky play at crucial moment gives Suns huge win over the Bucks to save season

The Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight game Monday night - their longest such streak since way back in November - with a tense 108-106 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks. A game that will always mean more, thanks to the 2021 NBA Finals that The Valley was unfortunately on the wrong end of.

Kevin Durant continued his Western Conference Player of the Week form, and was awesome in pacing this group with 38 massive points. It was Devin Booker who put the game on ice though, his midrange effort with time winding down enough to give the Suns the win. The way the 28-year-old carried himself in this one was much more like the Booker of old that we know and love.

A risky play in the fourth featuring Ryan Dunn turned this game.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer continued to lean into the youthful enthusiasm on this roster, with rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro having a big part in the victory. We've already broken down the late season importance of these two guys - plus two-way player Collin Gillespie - and the defensive effort of both was massive.

Ighodaro is looking increasingly like the perfect backup to center Nick Richards, but it was Dunn who stole the show here. He had a couple of highlight plays on Giannis Antetokounmpo, while on the defensive end he revelled in trying to shut the superstar down. He wasn't always successful - nobody is - but a late play by Dunn in the fourth-quarter ended up being the turning point.

It is unclear if it was completely intentional or not - although Eddie Johnson on the Suns' broadcast indicated that it was - but with less than two-and-a-half minutes remaining and with the Suns holding a slender 103-101 lead, Dunn appeared to intentionally foul Giannis to send him to the line. From there, he would miss both free-throws.

If this was done on purpose, then it was a masterstroke by coach Budenholzer and his coaching staff. The Bucks did end up getting the ball back after it went out of bounds after the second miss, but the tide had turned. Dunn also committed this foul at a time when Antetokounmpo was on a nice scoring run to keep his side in the game, and he'd hit a 3-pointer not long before going to the line.

It just felt like missing both broke the momentum that he was building up, although defensively he was still a menace. He practically lived in Kevin Durant's jersey the rest of the way, but this was the Suns at their imperfect best. Some offensive possessions down the stretch were stodgy - yet when this team needed a bucket and with Durant being marked out of the game - Booker stepped up.

Even if Dunn wasn't told to foul Giannis, the play still had the same desired impact. It also highlighted just how physical Dunn was trying to be, and he didn't shy away from the challenge on both ends of the court all night. Contrast that with much of the season, when a tough matchup has generally seen the Suns wilt as the game has progressed.

The secret sauce here then appears to be having Booker and Durant surrounded by guys who are willing to work hard defensively. That does extend to the likes of Grayson Allen, while even Tyus Jones played his part off the bench. We still need to temper expectations in Phoenix as it has been a poor season - but if the team continues like this - nobody is going to want to see them down the road.