“ We needed this victory “, says a convinced Kevin Durant, briefly shaking his head. Yes, the Suns had to react and stop their negative series of five losses in a row, which almost made us forget the seven consecutive victories acquired at the start of the season.
There is the end result, but also the way. When it came time to face the Lakers, the Arizona players could be satisfied with having finally emptied their infirmary, after a break in their schedule of a little less than a week.
Devin Booker was no longer going to be the main target for opposing defenses. Back, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were there to relieve him. It is no coincidence that the rear talk after the match of ” lots of spaces and opportunities » generated.
“ When you have a super talented team, with lots of options, you get good shots all the time », Analyzes the rear, author of 26 points (10/17) and 10 assists.
Risky double takes
“ We can't defend ourselves. They will take two, force Book or KD to release the ball. You saw it clearly this evening, we can't take two on them when all three of us are on the field “, slice Bradley Bealwho, like the other two, was efficient (23 points on 10/15 shots) without forcing.
The former Wizards player even considers that his training produced play “ exceptional », in terms of ball circulation in particular, embodied by the 31 assists for 51 converted shots. Including 29 baskets for the “Big Three” alone.
“ Kudos to them for coming back and playing like this after missing a significant amount of time. Their professionalism, their qualities, their talent… The rest of the team quickly assimilated and found how to play together. Booker, these three guys, gave us what we need to be at our best “, congratulates Mike Budenholzer.
Jusuf Nurkic flexes his muscles
Provided, of course, that the rest of the cast holds up. Which was the case this evening. We think of the arrows sent by Royce O'Neale at the end of a fatal third quarter for the Lakers. And above all to the internal activity of Jusuf Nurkic.
Author of 10 points in the minutes following the break, the pivot, praised for his defense or the quality of his screens – including one heavily relied on Austin Reaves to free Devin Booker – set the tone. With him, the Suns locked the racket and the Lakers had to be content with sending from afar, without much success. Phoenix came away with the score based on this big third quarter (36-18).
And the locals maintained their momentum thereafter to achieve the greatest success of their season (+27).
“ We needed a match like that, we will build on that. It was 48 minutes to get closer to what we want, to what we aspire to », Judges the coach, where Kevin Durant returns to a well-known adage: “ As long as we stay healthy, everything will be fine! »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Kevin Durant | 9 | 38.8 | 55.3 | 42.9 | 83.6 | 0.2 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 27.6 |
| Devin Booker | 16 | 36.7 | 43.8 | 33.9 | 88.6 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 24.1 |
| Bradley Beal | 9 | 34.8 | 47.5 | 38.3 | 80.8 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 17.8 |
| Tyus Jones | 16 | 32.4 | 44.3 | 37.5 | 80.0 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| Grayson Allen | 12 | 21.8 | 37.6 | 35.0 | 76.9 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 10.3 |
| Josh Okogie | 8 | 19.3 | 54.5 | 50.0 | 66.7 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 10.1 |
| Royce O'Neale | 16 | 25.3 | 40.6 | 40.2 | 70.6 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 9.6 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | 14 | 24.4 | 40.4 | 30.2 | 65.3 | 1.9 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 8.9 |
| Ryan Dunn | 15 | 18.8 | 42.3 | 33.3 | 16.7 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 6.9 |
| Monte Morris | 12 | 11.6 | 45.8 | 39.1 | 85.7 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| Mason Plumlee | 15 | 17.6 | 58.0 | 0.0 | 53.3 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 4.9 |
| Oso Ighodaro | 11 | 16.0 | 65.6 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 4.5 |
| Bowl Bowl | 4 | 5.1 | 55.6 | 25.0 | 66.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| Damion Lee | 4 | 9.4 | 28.6 | 11.1 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| Colin Gillespie | 1 | 3.5 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 3 | 8.9 | 50.0 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| Jalen Bridges | 2 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
