Once the Phoenix Suns figure out how to stop being who they once were, they have the potential to terrorize the NBA. The struggle to make this a reality And In the 125:119 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, it was once again shown how hard he fought.

Trailing by 18 at halftime, Phoenix had a terrible performance in two quarters, especially on defense. The Suns’ offensive flow was brutal, producing just eight assists, while the defense had deficiencies everywhere.

And then they just didn’t miss it.

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant had a few more shots down early in the third quarter, which wasn’t so much a jolt as it was a lifeline if the Suns could get a few stops. Those came, and Phoenix took advantage of the first chance to get back on track, firing 15 straight shots over nine minutes in that period, including a 30-10 run that tied the game late in the period.

This was helped greatly by Clippers guard Norman Powell firing a shot to the face that forced him to the bench after being on fire, a rhythm he was never able to regain later in the game. Their offense completely collapsed on the second night of a meeting when James Harden lost the ball and consistently reached the basket after being great early in the game.

The Phoenix bank returned the call again. Ryan Dunn and Royce O’Neale had excellent performances over a period of time that continued into the fourth quarter. And although Grayson Allen was 1 of 8, he made a handful of key plays with five rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Booker hit two three-pointers over a two-minute span midway through the fourth quarter to bring the Suns to six points, giving them a decent cushion heading into crucial time. With less than a minute left, with LA down by just three points, Durant got the game under way before Tyus Jones arrived to start the play.

He got a screen from Booker to counter all of the Clippers’ recent doubles and switches, and Booker’s short roll found O’Neale for his fifth three-pointer of the night and the dagger.

Devin Booker as a screener for the Suns.
– Look at the angle and contact, man won’t be able to switch
-Pops into open space, Tyus Jones takes it right to him
-Harden spins, man has to stream to the corner, kicks quickly and O’Neale scores. pic.twitter.com/Exp1hG3JsJ

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) November 1, 2024

Booker scored a season-high 40 points on 11 of 18 shooting with eight assists and two turnovers. Phoenix will be in a whole different gear if he and Durant are consistently the best players on the court, because the team is significantly stronger compared to last year. Durant had one such outing on Saturday and was pretty darn good on Monday too. It’s worth having two of the best in the world, you know?

Dunn played game-changing defense in the portion of the third quarter when things started to go south, scoring 16 points. At Virginia, he only broke the 15-plus mark twice in 65 games. Dunn missed his first two 3-point attempts before drilling the next three, marking a notable turnaround in his confidence compared to college.

O’Neale’s plus-minus magic came to an abrupt end (-7), bizarrely, on the night he scored a career-high (!) 21 points after scoring 31 points in his first four meetings. I don’t know what the precedent is for players attempting fewer than 10 shots per game winning Sixth Man of the Year, but he’ll at least be in the running if he keeps this up.

Before the heroics, it was the second game in a row for Phoenix to get off to a terrible start, and this time there was no immediate recovery. The Suns trailed 37-20 after one quarter.

Phoenix’s turnovers, which had more to do with a mental error by LA’s high-pressure ball defense and less to do with the defenders actually ripping the ball out, set a poor tone early on, as did the immense lack of color contacts by the drivers. Without Bradley Beal (right wrist sprain), the Suns can quickly find themselves in a lull when it comes to short rolls from screen setters or cuts to keep the ball from getting around the rim. When Phoenix’s offense falters, it happens when the ball movement is in flux, and that usually starts when the ball handlers are screaming downhill.

The Clippers did this much, much more often through Harden and Kevin Porter Jr., which made a significant difference. It’s clear as day that Harden is playing without brain fog and with real intent. This was the first night in a young season where we saw the Suns make up for a lack of depth defensively. So if the process is a mess on offense and the Suns can’t generate stops to improve it, then you’ll find yourself behind by 19 early in the second quarter.

Booker did the Booker thing and took us back to 2016-19 when he single-handedly tried to dig Phoenix out of a big deficit at some point in the game. A 13-5 surge brought Phoenix within nine points before more defensive problems arose. The Suns inexcusably repeatedly gave Powell room to take off his sweater, sometimes on the ball and sometimes away from it. Powell’s second straight three-pointer that took the ball off midway through the second quarter forced Budenholzer to call his third timeout of the half, and he did so with a lot of visible frustration. It was justified on the errors alone before I got to how Powell started the night with 26 points a night.

Jusuf Nurkic once again had a brutal start, to the point where Budenholzer opted to use Oso Ighodaro over him in the second quarter. LA responded by adding Ivica Zubac, perhaps the most underrated center in the NBA right now. He averaged 22.6 points and 14 rebounds per game in his first three contests this year before hitting a pause on Wednesday. Zubac rebounded with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and his effort in the second half of the second quarter brought the Clippers back to 18 points at halftime.

Phoenix obviously wasn’t fully focused from the start of this game. LA was able to start the game with two out-of-bounds plays that required virtually no dribbling to get two shots and also got a free shot at the rim after a Suns shot. This became more clear on the glass, where the Clippers scored twelve offensive rebounds in the first two quarters alone. Point to the size you want. Sure, that’s a small part of it. But only a little. The Suns didn’t respect their shortcomings enough with their commitment and paid the price.

Nurkic started in the third quarter and was there for important points in the fourth quarter. LA’s own shortcoming meant Nurkic couldn’t finish the game, but he played better in the second half, although not enough to make up for another really difficult start.

It remains a difficult duel for Durant, who again had to struggle with turnovers. The Clippers had incredible awareness that Durant would look for errant passes after a pass to relieve the pressure and, as usual, got under him and into his grasp. His four giveaways, while not of nuclear significance, were once again a problem on offense. Durant made up for it by killing himself on defense, especially in the second half. He finished with 18 points (7 of 14), five rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks.

Jones was rock solid with 11 assists and one turnover to go, good for seven points in 33 minutes. When he ran the offense, good things happened.

Beal missed his second game in the last three games with a sprained right wrist. He’s been an excellent all-rounder in low usage in the three games he’s played, but it’s important for Beal to find a clean four-to-six week stretch relatively early in the season. He needs to find a rhythm and flow not only with his role but also with his teammates. That was much more of a problem for him last year, not his level of play.

Beal’s wrist injury is a minor injury by all accounts, but it’s not encouraging for Beal that he was ruled out 90 minutes before tipoff on Monday and was ruled out 30 minutes earlier on Thursday (like Saturday). Again, even something as nagging as just a game here or a game there is a big obstacle.

Powell finished the game with 23 points, while it was a triple-double for Harden – 25 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, two blocks and six turnovers on 8 of 19 shooting.

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