The Suns challenge the Heat
After the Suns' big three won seven in a row, they began to show fatigue, losing to the Pacers and Magic in quick succession, making people realize that the Suns are not reaching the heights of the favorites to win the championship. In the last two games, Booker has scored a total of 106 points, but the team has lost all because Durant and Beal are not at their best. In other words, if this Suns wants to walk on a winning streak, then the Big Three must have at least two online, of course, when encountering the top teams in the league, the Big Three may not work together.
In this game, the Suns will take on the Miami Heat, last season's Eastern Conference champions. The Heat's recent form has been terrible, and trading Rozier didn't change the team's decline, and after a six-game losing streak, the team has fallen to seventh place in the East. After coming to the Heat, Rozier's scoring average dropped from 23.2 points per game to 8.7 points.
Rozier's form is picking up
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the Suns were dominated by the opponents, and the Big Three did not exert their strength, and they only scored 16 points together, but Eubanks on the bench scored 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block on 5-of-5 shooting, Gordon also had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, the team scored 33 points in a single quarter, while the Heat at home only scored 25 points, including Rozier with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, and Butler also had 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. After returning from the game in the second quarter, Butler scored 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, and Herro also had 8 points and 2 rebounds, but the Heat only scored 24 points as a team.
The Suns seized the opportunity, Durant had 6 points and 3 rebounds, Gordon had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Booker had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, the team scored 29 points in a single quarter, and at the end of the half, the Suns led the Heat by 13 points 62-49. In the second half, the Suns continued to exert their strength, Booker scored 12 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, Gordon scored 9 points and 2 assists, Beal scored 7 points and 3 assists, and the team scored 38 points in a single quarter, while the Heat only scored 25 points, Rozier shot 3 of 3 from three-point range, and Butler also had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, and the difference between the two teams came to 26 points.
With such a huge point difference, the game can be said to have completely lost its suspense. After returning from the final quarter, the Heat still caused problems for the Suns. Richardson scored 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals on 3-of-5 shooting, Herro hit 2 three-pointers, and Bam Adebayo also had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, and the team once narrowed the gap to 10 points, making the Suns' Big Three afraid to clock out of work. Gordon made a crucial three-pointer to stabilize the situation, and the Suns eventually managed to beat the Heat 118-105.
The Eastern Conference Champions have lost 7 in a row
After losing this game, the Heat suffered 7 consecutive defeats, Butler did his best, 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-of-12 shooting, Rozier also found his form, 8-of-14 shooting, 4-of-6 three-point shooting, 21 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, which is undoubtedly the only good news for the Heat. Herro had just 17 points, six rebounds and four assists on 5-of-18 shooting, while Bam Adebayo had eight points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Martin and Richardson off the bench scored 12 points each. For the Heat, how to end the losing streak is undoubtedly the key.
The Suns refused to lose three in a row, and the Big Three became green leaves, Gordon stepped up and played 33 minutes off the bench, shooting 8-of-17 from the field, 5-of-12 from three-point range, with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, a team-high score. Booker shot 9-of-23 with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Durant shot 8-of-15 with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and Beal shot 8-of-21 with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, Eubanks had 11 points and five rebounds, while Okogie had 11 points and seven rebounds.