There's a consensus in the NBA that after a long trip back on the road, the first game back home is always going to be tough.
On Wednesday night local time, the Phoenix Suns faced the same dilemma as other NBA teams. They went to Memphis, then Houston, and then rushed to Minnesota to play a back-to-back game on the road with the Timberwolves.
The Dallas Mavericks made the Suns' homecoming night even more difficult, even when the Best Players on the Mavericks didn't play.
On November 18, Beijing time, in the face of a 6-point trail at the start of the fourth quarter, the Suns, witnessed by 14,838 fans, played a 29-16 score to win, reversing the lone ranger without Luka Doncic 105-98.
After a 1-3 start, last year's Western Conference champion Suns relied on a wave of ten consecutive wins to seize the second place in the West, behind the Golden State Warriors with 12 wins and 2 losses.
It was their first ten-game winning streak in 11 years since the 2009-10 season and the longest winning streak in three seasons since head coach Monty Williams was in charge of the team.
In this game, the Suns and Lone Rangers have a total of 7 equals and 19 alternating leads. On this night, the two teams were indeed evenly matched.
Devin Booker played 35 minutes and shot 11-of-21 from the field with 24 points and nine rebounds; DeAndre Ayton had 19 points and 13 rebounds, his 100th double-double in his career.
What about Chris Paul, 1 point in three quarters?
Paul has been the Suns' finisher since coming to Phoenix last season. However, he occasionally misses places in the game. Today was just in time.
Despite Chris Paul's frustrating 2-of-12 shooting, he delivered two key assists for Ayton and Booker in the final two minutes, securing the Suns' victory. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Porzingis took off his hand on a layup, and Paul slapped the ball that was still in the air and slapped it right in the face of Jaren Brunson.
Technical fouls, the referee is ruthless.
Paul then got to work, starting to do what he often did—leading the team to win. He assisted on Mikael Bridges' three-point shot, the signature mid-range hit. Next, found Ayton on the inside, passing assists. Suddenly, with 4:18 left in the game, the Suns went from trailing by six to two points ahead. With 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the game, Paul felt fouled during the breakout, the referee did not whistle at the moment, and he found Ayton when he was about to go out of bounds. Ayton scored on a dunk to give the Suns a 100-96 lead over the Mavericks by four points.
In the final 50.2 seconds, Paul delivered his 14th assist of the game , assisting Booker to score a three-pointer.
Booker said after the game: "It wasn't a tactic, but we scored. ”
"It's not easy to beat the best teams in the West," Lone Rangers head coach Jason Kidd said after the loss. "It lasted until the last two minutes. Unfortunately, we lost it, and they did. That's the case in the league. ”
"Mental perseverance."
In Monty Williams' view, this is the aspect of the team that has grown the most since the new season. The team won six games in Ayton's absence, with substitute Javier McGee contributing 19 points and 14 rebounds against the Houston Rockets and Frank Kaminsky blasting 31 points and six rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ayton saw McKee and Kaminsky acting so crazy in his absence, and he said, "Living in an environment and culture like [the sun], all you can do is be happy to be in such a situation." Especially seeing Kaminsky's performance, it's crazy. I really felt like a fan. ”
Paul played 37 minutes on 37 minutes with 0-of-6 three-pointers, 3-of-4 free throws, 7 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists without error. Statistically, it was Paul's 46th assist in the regular season with zero turnovers, and he was tied for the most with Magsee Boggs in nearly 36 years.
"We didn't shoot a good shooting percentage today, but the players stood up when we needed to score," Monty Williams said. "Our mentality is, 'Let it fly.'" ”
It is very difficult to suppress the sun for 48 minutes. Booker can respond by becoming the Suns' "Mr. Key"; Ayton can score on the inside line; Crowder can hit a three-pointer at key moments, and the bench players don't know when to erupt. That's why Paul was so subdued on the offensive end tonight, and Suns fans felt better than expected.
Speaking about the ten-game winning streak, Monti said: "It's certainly great to have a ten-game winning streak, but I've always been focused on how I can keep the team improving. ”
Given the Phoenix Suns' great performances last season, their start was not satisfactory, but for them, the real chaos is no longer on the court. First, team owner Robert Savour is adamantly opposed to a maximum salary extension for Ayton, which seems to be the craziest team management surprise in recent years. Then we saw ESPN reports about Savour and other departments creating a "toxic" work environment over the past 17 years, involving sexism, racial discrimination. The Suns issued a statement denying the allegations, and Savour's wife was subsequently confirmed to have sent threatening messages to former Suns employees, which upset some employees.
Off-court factors have been disturbed, but they have not affected the Suns' recent performance on the court, which makes people admire Monty's level of stability. Perhaps, as Booker said, after last season's playoffs, we pay more attention to detail, and we are now preparing for the playoffs every game.
They can really focus on the field and have no distractions.
In the process of soaring, the Suns win the Kings, win the Trailblazers, win the Grizzlies, win the Rockets, and win the Timberwolves. I don't think it matters if the Suns' winning streak has to do with an easy schedule. You just have to see what we witnessed last season and it seems like it's going to happen again.
The Lone Rangers scored in double figures, Porzingis had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Brunson had a quasi-triple-double of 18 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, and Hardaway had 22 points and 4 assists, so what would the game look like if Doncic was on the court?
The scene where the two teams meet in the playoffs is even more reverie.