Toronto Raptors striker Pascal Siakam (left) tries to control the ball against Phoenix Suns striker Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin)
The Phoenix Suns continues to find a winning formula, while the attack from the top five still unfolds. On Wednesday, with a 123-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors, it was a high-profile shot + enough defense.
The Suns had 21 trios, one out of the franchise record. This included an excerpt in the second half where an absurd 12 out of 15 started.
Jae Crowder (21 points) hit six and Cam Johnson (16 points) added four. Phoenix had 30 assists and only 12 turnovers. Cam Payne recorded a career record of 10 assists (with a comeback) in just 16 minutes.
“We felt that if we could touch the painting, we could get open shots,” said coach Monty Williams.
Payne was the perfect player to do this, as he continues to prove that he is a legitimate reserve guard.
“He has different equipment. He has a herki-jerkiness style and is a willing passer, ”said Williams. “What happens with Cam’s passes is that they are on time and on target. You rarely see him pass the ball high or low. I thought your passes were right tonight. Your ability to get to painting really helps us in these situations. “
The Suns defense (6-2) did not reach its rhythm until the second half and Toronto’s attack (1-6) continued to appear throughout the game. Although Phoenix’s attack was clumsy, there were ball conversions deep enough in the first half to make up for it and being four in the middle of a game looked like they should be losing. The Raptors had 28 break points and reached their season average of 16 at halftime.
Phoenix braked defensively enough in the last 24 minutes to help ensure victory.
“They only had 17 assists, so they were playing the dribble and missing the shots,” said Williams. “Defensively, we weren’t bad … you’re talking about a desperate team that won a championship. I thought we did enough to win the game. There were sections where we were very well and then we returned. “
This flood of 12 points from three points to the Suns in just over 16 minutes to start the second half ended up bringing an advantage of 15 points at the beginning of the fourth period.
The Suns attack encountered an obstacle again, however, failing to score 4:51 of play time and allowing the Raptors to reach six with 2:11 left.
Mikal Bridges was fouled to prevent this sequence and Kyle Lowry’s technical foul for Toronto increased to nine points. Even after a great effort by the Raptors with pressure from across the court to make things interesting, they just didn’t have enough time to complete a recovery and the Suns secured the victory.
The Raptors entered the game in a dejected manner and their playmaker Pascal Siakam was the one who got the most trouble. His season record in six games was 22 points, a total he reached in the middle of the third quarter. The combination of strength, footwork and agility of Siakam as a destroyer is one of the best on the planet.
He did everything on Wednesday, to the point where Williams put center Deandre Ayton over him in the second half. Bridges and even Crowder, a very strong guy, were being dominated by Siakam. Ayton did his best, playing a strong defensive game overall, but even with his skill on the ball, he failed to stop the All-Star winger, who scored 32 points. limit it enough in the last quarter to participate in the Suns victory.
“He’s an All-Star and won a title,” said Williams. “Good players have the ability to get to their seats even when you know what they are going to do, but I found that in the second half it was much more difficult for him.”
“I thought our aggression was just to draw the line and say, ‘If you’re going to score, you have to score and pass us by.’ I thought it was much better, ”added Williams.
A lot of that was Ayton. He had 16 rebounds in 31 minutes, plus 11 points.
The Suns scored 42 points on the bench, with 16 from Johnson and 15 from Dario Saric accounting for most of that. Booker finished with six assists and 24 points, while Chris Paul gave eight assists and 12 points.
Players will admit what was mentioned at the summit, which, in general, are still now as a team. The fact that Suns can be 6-2, still be aware of it and inspire confidence that they will continue to improve is quite remarkable.
“We’re just trying to accumulate victories … it’s a very strange season,” said Paul. “The guys didn’t get a chance to play pickup before the season, there weren’t a lot of training sessions, so the games seem a little bit just now because the teams are trying to find and play at the same time, but we just want to win. We just want to accumulate victories. “