Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton on the left is missing from Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo / Jim Rassol)
Wins for the Phoenix Suns like Tuesday’s 110-100 final over the Miami Heat are what the team could use the most.
They were tested by a good team on the road, with Miami (22-22) delivering a counterattack towards the end of the third quarter, after the Suns (29-13) played an incredible 14-minute stretch from the middle of the second to the in the final third that had them up to 22.
Phoenix led by 12 points at one point at the beginning of the fourth period, when the blow came, and a combination of the second unit and Deandre Ayton had to stabilize.
They did, and that was all Miami had in them. The Suns showed a great feature in a handful of victories over good teams where they keep getting punched in the chin and, in the fourth period, there are no more kicks to make to the opponent. This wear effect is the quality of a strong, strong team.
Ayton had one of his best games of the season and, for the first time in over a month, had a kind of two-way impact that is nothing but encouraging.
“His pick-and-roll coverage was very, very good,” said coach Monty Williams of Ayton’s defense. “Your attention on the rim not to be missed, to put your hands up and make it difficult … these are dominant performances. I just thought that your focus was on a high level. “
Ayton finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
“When he plays with that kind of strength and focus, we have a chance to be that kind of defensive team that you saw tonight,” said Williams.
Devin Booker took his mojo offensively and converted it into some difficult kicks to score 23 points.
Four of the five Suns holders had at least 19 more, a major development, given the season’s opening team’s surprising struggles to consistently beat opponents. Phoenix had 29 assists for seven turnovers.
The Suns held Jimmy Butler, Heat’s point guard, with 14 points from 11 shots, not letting one of the best in the world reach the foul line after averaging eight free throws a night in his last 10 games. Williams said that avoiding rim fouls is part of the game plan. Butler also had five turnovers.
Williams was able to play Booker, Chris Paul and Jae Crowder under 30 minutes in a game in Orlando on Wednesday, while Ayton and Mikal Bridges played 34 each.
In a fierce game for a quarter and a half, there was an oscillation in the middle of the second from which the aforementioned Suns wave came.
If you watched or heard, you may have missed the specific move to which to assign it.
Williams said after a recent home game that Paul has a combination of feeling and instinct for steals that he has never seen before.
Paul, almost like a basketball spirit from afar in some butterfly-like antics, often influences and redirects the flow of a game with one or two moves that you could only imagine doing. At the moment, it just looks like a heady move. But looking back, it can sometimes be a tipping point.
Heat rookie Precious Achiuwa lost his balance and lost a bunny after Paul’s hit here in the middle of the second quarter with Suns ahead by three, and Paul grabbed the rebound afterwards.
Paul kicked off that rebound for a final lob for Booker and then prepared Bridges for free throws with a bad back feed next time.
After that recovery pic.twitter.com/ORmP3ESWzt
– Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 24, 2021
The Suns closed the first half with a 16-4 run after Achiuwa’s opening shot that would have put Miami at a point.
Would it have happened without that blow and Paul’s next two passes? It might be. But it is one of those things that has been a pleasure to learn from watching Paul every night, which is a testament to his usual status as a point guard.
Sometimes it is much more than the box score would suggest on an eight-point night and nine assists.
Most of this incredible outbreak had to do with the big guy.
Part of the reason Ayton has been such a confused young player to watch this year is not just because he is inconsistent. Of course, the source of his inconsistency is a mystery, but inconsistent players can still be quite easy to discover.
Ayton has not been the case this season, as his performances have been more erratic in a game and his mistakes are, at times, abominable. He sometimes looked like a rookie in the first few weeks of adapting to the NBA. It’s bizarre.
The player we saw on Tuesday, however, was back on schedule with last season. When Ayton brought activity on the offensive glass and caught the ball earlier, it usually pushed him further. That was the case against the Heat.
With Miami changing strongly, the Suns tried to involve Ayton from the start. And perhaps in the best development of the night for him, it was not too early. He was blocked by Butler on his first shot, missed the second and Butler pulled Ayton’s chair on the third attempt to make him travel.
Instead of making a snowball from Ayton, he kept trying to gain a position and eventually it was worth it. He took his next three shots.
From there, he remained a recovering presence and rolled over to the basket while doing his job defensively.
And when he goes beyond “doing his job defensively” to really impact most possessions, that’s when he’s playing tremendous basketball.
The third quarter was one of the best changes in Ayton’s career.
Crowder said that due to the way Ayton moves, they can exploit it as a team to make them a top defensive team, because Ayton is not just a one-dimensional defender on the ball screens. Crowder said there is “a feeling” that Ayton can get better by putting himself in the right position, such as when to be at certain points, when to break the offensive glass, when to run on the court and so on.
That feeling came fully together in that change.
Ayton said that a lot to get into this type of zone is getting to know the staff and communicating with their perimeter defenders, something Crowder said they have been constantly emphasizing to Ayton and that he has improved.
“Throughout the defense, we communicated throughout the game, and that was what brought intensity and a sense of urgency tonight,” said Ayton.
Ayton changed almost every shot on the edge in an eight-minute stretch.
When Ayton left the court, the Suns advantage had increased to 22. And after Dario Saric suffered his fifth foul at the start of the fourth period with the Suns advantage reduced to 15, Ayton was the starter who returned with the reserves and guaranteed that the game was in good hands.
Expectations are too high to set, given Ayton’s third-year low points, but if this is the player the Suns can get in the playoffs, they can go all the way.
“In an ideal world, I really want even more … For me, I am never satisfied to put pressure on him because there is so much there,” said Williams of Ayton.