Thursday afternoon the Phoenix Suns finished the same way they started their five-week adventure in Orlando: with a win.
Monty Williams’ squad started fast and never looked back, pulling away from the Dallas Mavericks 128-102 to complete a perfect 8-0 run in The Bubble to close out their regular season…for now. If Brooklyn beats Portland Thursday night, the Suns would face the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon in the play-in tournament with the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot on the line. If they can get past the Griz, they’d force a second, win-or-go-home matchup against Memphis.
Phoenix (34-39) led the Mavs 36-25 at the end of the first quarter and stretched the margin to 76-57 at the half – shooting 66% from the field heading into intermission.
The second half was much like the first as Phoenix outscored Dallas (43-32) in all four quarters.
“We changed the narrative of how people think of us,” Devin Booker said in his post-game Zoom.
Booker led a balanced offensive attack scoring a game-high 27 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. The Suns finished with five players in double figures and committed just five turnovers with 34 assists. Ricky Rubio dished out 12 assists. Phoenix shot 55% from the field and 41% on three-point attempts.
Like many of the Suns’ opponents in Orlando, Dallas played short-handed. Kristaps Porzingis did not play and all-world guard Luka Doncic played just 13 minutes Thursday, scoring 18 points and grabbing five rebounds.
