The Suns battled Portland again tonight, and this time they came out on top with a convincing home victory. Tonight, Phoenix exceeded the fans’ expectations with a complete basketball performance.
Three Major Players Did Their Thing
All three members of the Suns’ three-headed monster scored in double figures despite none of them topping 20 minutes of playing time. Both Durant and Booker scored 19 points, while Booker added four assists. A majority of Booker’s points (17) came early in the game. Among the three, Bradley Beal’s 11 points on 2 of 7 shooting was the lowest total. Beal added two assists, one of which featured a terrific crossover and dump off to his big man.
Defense in Place
The Suns did an excellent job on defense tonight. In his first four minutes on the court, Jordan Goodwin was the defensive leader for the Phoenix Suns. Out of the five Trail Blazers who played at least ten minutes, three scored fewer than five points against the Suns’ defense. Additionally, Phoenix limited Portland to a below-average (31% below league average) percentage from beyond the arc.
Today, the Suns decided to start Grayson Allen instead of Josh Okogie. Both have been competing for the fifth and final starting position. On 5-9 shooting from the field, Allen scored 13 points and dished out 2 assists. To go along with his 8 points, Okogie grabbed 5 boards and dished out 2 assists. Okogie played 21 minutes while Allen played 20. This is very similar to how many minutes other players have logged. The Suns’ Josh Okogie had the best plus/minus of anyone on the team at +20. A +18 was Allen’s plus/minus.
Phoenix will play its final preseason game away from home. The Suns will take on LeBron and the Lakers on the road in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 19. It’s going to get going at 7 o’clock p.m. PST.