The 2004–05 season was Steve Nash's first return to the Phoenix Suns. Nash lifted his team from 29-53 last season to 62-20 and led the team all the way to the Western Conference Finals, a year in which Nash averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists per game, just 30 years old.
Seventeen years later, Chris Paul, who had seen Nash as an example, led the sun back to that height. This year, Paul averaged 15 points and 10.7 assists per game, but he was already 36 years old.
On March 31, the Chase Center was full. With 16.1 seconds left in the game and 9 seconds left on offense, the ball was once again in Chris Paul's hand. Paul accelerated with the ball in front of defensive Otto Porter, breaking all the way into the box, and throwing a throw from the back under the watchful eyes of Draymond Green.
A sword seals the throat! 104-101 Suns led the Warriors by three points. Under the gaze of 18,064 fans, the Phoenix Suns finally defeated the Golden State Warriors 107-103, and Paul scored four points in the final moments to help the team firmly hold the lead. After this campaign, the Suns' record reached 62 wins and 14 losses, equaling the team's record of single-season victory. The Suns also scored nine straight wins, giving the Warriors four straight losses.
"I'm proud of our players and our staff, it's unbelievable. I'm proud to be a part of the Suns' history in this way. Suns head coach Monty Williams said.
It was a tough, playoff-style battle, with the Suns, who averaged second in the league in scoring, second in the league in offensive efficiency, and second in defensive efficiency, tied up by the Warriors, who lacked Stephen Curry. The team's top scorer, Devon Booker, made 22 points and five rebounds on 5-of-21 shooting and 8 three-pointers that night; the team's interior pillar DeAndre Ayton was also not in good shape, making 3 of 11 in the first half, but he struggled to grab the most 16 rebounds of the game.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole scored 38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, a career-high, and has cut 20+ in 15 consecutive games, becoming the third player in team history to achieve this achievement in nearly 30 years, followed by Curry and Kevin Durant.
"By the end of the regular season, everyone wants to adjust their form to the best and show enough aggression. Tonight's confrontation was very intense, and in my opinion it was a playoff-level contest, an atmosphere in which none of us flinched and fought against the opponent to the last minute. Poole said after the game. After losing to the Suns, both the Warriors and the Lone Rangers lost 48-29, but because the Warriors' record against the Lone Rangers this season was 1-3, the Warriors, who were originally ranked third, were overtaken by the Lone Rangers and fell to fourth in the West.
After such a big battle, both sides should be exhausted, and the time is already more than 10 p.m. local time. However, after the final whistle blew, the Suns practiced overtime. With loud music and some well-intentioned jokes, some of them were doing pull-ups, some were sprinting, and some were lifting weights. The Suns do this after every game, home or away, and it's become a habit.
"That's who we are. We are a team that works very hard. Despite the research that showed that post-race weightlifting helped with recovery, I think they really enjoyed their time with each other and the work. Monty Williams said, "I said before that our players are chasing something. When you're chasing something, if you're not ready, you're not going to get what you're chasing. ”
With 39.8 seconds left in the final game, Poole fouled Booker, who scored two free throws to give the Suns a one-point lead. Then, "Dream chasing" Green made a mistake in passing, and Paul hit the crucial throw next.
Speaking about the goal, Paul said: "We've been through this before. Obviously, we are in an exciting environment. Playing here, the crowds are crazy, we've played a lot of games like this this year and last year. It was the trust between us that ultimately helped us. ”
"We just stayed consistent throughout the game. We had Paul and Booker, and I always thought that was their moment. They'll take us home, we'll defend on the pitch and fight to the end. Bridges said.
In the 54 years since the Phoenix Suns were founded, they have only won 60 games on four occasions.
1993–93: 62 wins, 20 losses
2004–05: 62 wins, 20 losses
2021-22 season: 62 wins, 14 losses
2006–07: 61 wins, 21 losses
After the last game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Suns' record has tied the 2006-07 season. Now, they've tied the best record in team history led by Charles Barkley in 1992-93. Nash then led his Suns, who adhered to the principle of "7 seconds or less," to tie the record. The Suns, led by Paul, Booker and Ayton, now have a better chance of setting a new record for Phoenix than Nash's Suns, unless they lose all the remaining games, which is obviously even more unlikely. Paul said in an interview after the game, we are all people who love games, we love to play, we all want to play games and want to continue to improve. Therefore, the sun will not stop moving forward.
This year marks Booker's 7th year with the Phoenix Suns, and in the first four seasons of his career, Booker hasn't won more than 25 games in one of the first four seasons of his career. Bridges, who was drafted by the Suns in 2018, recalls the first season of his career, lamenting that "I've never lost so many games since I played".
From 19 wins and 63 losses in the 2018-19 season to 65 wins in the 2021-22 season, in just 3 years, the team has changed dramatically. Bridges called the experience a necessary "process," and then he laughed and said, "I didn't expect us to improve so fast." And Booker, who has experienced longer darkness, said the win this season "means a lot".
"After 7 years here, I know more and more about the history of this team and the great achievements of those legends. Now, we stand with those legends, which is a very remarkable achievement. Booker said.
The suns have won 62 in the first two times, Barkley and Nash have won MVP. The Suns reached the NBA Finals last season, and this year they're certainly a better team than last year. With the potential for Monty Williams to become the NBA Coach of the Year this season, Bridges could get into the defensive squad, is it possible for Booker to get MVP? Perhaps, the Suns don't think about so many individual awards, and they seem to have only one ultimate goal this season: to get back to the finals and win the championship.
Determined to move forward, although far will reach.