Monday was a tremendous opportunity for the Phoenix Suns, playing a great Cleveland Cavaliers team without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Max Strus and Dean Wade in their fifth game over seven days.
Even with the return of Devin Booker after a four-game absence, it took a lot more effort than expected in a 117-111 win.
Following a Suns (38-27) response in the middle quarters to a tepid start, Cleveland (41-24) actually had multiple chances to win the game. It got within two at 90 seconds remaining but back-to-back turnovers by the Cavaliers let Phoenix get the ball back with 26 seconds left and a two-point lead.
Grayson Allen was fouled, made both free throws and Kevin Durant did an excellent job defending at the rim while securing the ball to wrap the game up.
It was a 20-point fourth quarter. The Suns require major improvement in those 12 minutes to stand any chance in the postseason and there still haven’t been many signs of growth since the All-Star break.
Durant continued his torrid pace over the last few weeks with 37 points (14-of-26), eight rebounds, six assists and three turnovers. Even with a healthy top-six of the rotation, Durant played 39 minutes. Eric Gordon and Josh Okogie were both out.
Booker looked like himself, contributing 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists (with two turnovers) while this was a very good Bradley Beal game. Beal added 24 points, four assists, three steals and one turnover.
Phoenix had a lackadaisical start that was chalked up more to mental mistakes than anything else, allowing Cleveland to get up by 18 points in the early second quarter. Star guard Darius Garland was given too much air space early on and scored 21 of his 30 points in the first quarter.
That was when the Suns’ defensive intensity and focus ratcheted up. In addition, Booker was highly aggressive. Booker will almost always play to the rhythm of a game, but when he hasn’t been heavily involved in a start that turns sideways for Phoenix, he will often attempt to take over the best he can. This was true over a half-decade ago and remains true now on much better teams.
