The Phoenix Suns fell to 1-3 on this young season after losing to the Kings 110-107 at the buzzer on Wednesday night.
Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes hit a three at the buzzer to get the victory for the Kings. With the loss, the Suns fall to 0-2 at home. Last season, Phoenix lost only nine times in their building.
Here is the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Suns’ loss to Kings.
The Great for the Suns:
-Devin Booker scored a game-high 31 points on Wednesday to go along with six rebounds and eight assists. It marked Booker’s 114th career 30+ point game, which ties for the 11th most 30+ point games in league history prior to a player’s 25th birthday.
-Deandre Ayton notched his 96th career double-double, pouring in 21 points to go along with 21 rebounds, which matched his career-high. It marked Ayton’s second career game of 20+ points and 20+ rebounds.
-Mikal Bridges tallied 15 points, his fourth consecutive game of 10+ points, to go along with five rebounds and a team-high two blocks. It marks the first time in Bridges’ career that he’s scored 10+ points in each of the first four games to begin a season.
Not So Great for the Suns:
-Chris Paul was 1/10 from the field and scored only six points, but he dished out eight assists.
Third-quarter: The Suns had a 61-53 lead at halftime, but they were outscored 29-15 in the third. Phoenix shot 7/22 from the field, including 0/6 from three-point range in the quarter. In addition, the Suns had six of their 11 turnovers in the third.
Bottom Line:
Teams will be gunning for the Western Conference. They will and do have a bullseye on their back. According to Jae Crowder, the Suns have to get back to being the hunter.
“We have to get back to being the hunter instead of just being hunted,” he said. “In each game, we talk about how teams are coming at us, and we’re stepping up the challenge, but not for 48 minutes. We have to find a way to take that challenge on for 48 minutes and quit talking when the game is over about how teams are coming, respecting us now, and we’re getting team’s best shots. We have to get back to being the hunter and stepping into the ring, and right now, we’re not.”
What’s next:
The Suns get back at it on Saturday night when they continue their five-game homestand against the Cavaliers
Best of the Rest:
Kings’ Buddy Hield knocked down a team-high seven three-pointers on 11 attempts in 27 minutes off the bench tonight en route to a team-high 26 points and five rebounds.
Barnes tallied 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
