I told you this morning how Zach Lowe pointed out to me (and a million of my closest friends) that the Pelicans give you all three you want, and the key to a Suns victory is to get them and do it them.
On Tuesday night in the featured TNT game, the Phoenix Suns did a ton of three to propel them to a sweeping victory over Pelicans, 111-86.
The TNT game allowed the Suns to show off their new The Valley t-shirts and courts, and they appeared on TV.
“I wish we could play with them all season,” said Ayton later, with a big smile, about the shirts that represent the valley and all Suns fans. “It’s all Love. All love.”
The Suns led by 2 points after a quarter, 22 after two and 39 after three (100-61). They hit 17 of 38 trios in the first three quarters only, but also went further (32-26) and hit more free throws (17-11) than the burly Pellies. All this for three quarters.
I’m only using three-quarter statistics because, for the first time this year, the fourth quarter just didn’t matter. Not when you lead 39 out of 100-61 into it.
Who was great for Suns?
Jae Crowder had 21 points in 21 minutes and led all the scorers. Six different Suns scored in two digits and none of them were called Booker or Paul. Deandre Ayton had 13 points, 12 rebounds and a block in 26 minutes. No starter has played more than 30 minutes in this one.
“That Chris and Devin don’t have to carry us, that’s a big sign,” said coach Monty Williams. Chris Paul had 9 points and 9 assists. Devin Booker had 9 points and 3 assists.
I’m sure Booker is a little confused by all of this, considering he had to be the only one in his entire career. But now Booker just needs to get out of those bombastic double teams and let the rest of his guys blow the guys up.
Mikal and the two Cams were amazing again. Mikal Bridges played very well in the defense of Brandon Ingram with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Cameron Johnson had 10 trios and scored 18 points, while also registering 2 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. And Cam Payne had 13 points and 7 assists. In this triumphant return, Dario Saric had 10 points and 4 rebounds.
“Watching Dario was really cool,” said Williams. “We are expecting him for a few more games.”
The Suns are 3-1 for the first time since 2014. And the total of 48 attempts at three points was a franchise record.
But don’t get too excited yet.
“We will not be happy on the farm four games later,” said coach Monty Williams after the game. “You need a sample of 20 games to find out who you are.”
Game flow
After pinching and doubling in the first quarter, the Pelicans vs. Suns game broke to a 22-point gap (66-44) at halftime. The Pelicans landed 13 of 18 shots in the first quarter. Zion Williamson and Steven Adams combined to make 11 of 12 shots at halftime, while the back court of Phoenix Paul’s Suns All-Star by Chris Paul and Devin Booker combined for just two shots. TOTAL.
All of these things are true.
Therefore, you may be surprised to discover that it was your PHOENIX SUNS with the advantage of 22 points in the range. Yes, the Suns with the court and very cool alternative uniforms from Vale. The Suns with really good young talent. The Phoenix Suns with the dot god, CP3.
The rest of the Suns had 9 of 19 trios in half, Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton adding 11+ and nine different Suns entering the scoring column. Once again, Cam Payne was sublime. Mikal Bridges was glorious. The ball resonated throughout the court, with great thanks to Dario Saric’s first appearance as the team’s intermediary. In the break, Saric had 7 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal. The Suns won the second quarter 35-15.
So, of course, the TNT guys spent the break talking about Zion Williamson. Big shock.
Any team would come out weak to start the second half after rejoicing with a 22 point lead … except for a team led by Chris Paul and Jae Crowder. Just like at the beginning of the game, Paul and Crowder combined to help the Suns keep their foot on the gas.
Soon the Suns lead was 79-47 and the Pelicans asked for a timeout.
SEVENTY-NINE TO FORTY-SEVEN.
I understand that this is something from the beginning of the season, and you can’t put any permanent markers in a game like this. Remember that the Suns were 5-2 a year ago, before injuries and learning curves made them struggle to stay close to 0.500 the rest of the way. But this is different. This seems sustainable.
After three quarters, Suns was up 39. In the middle of day 4, he still had a 40 point lead.
Then we saw a final lineup of Carter, E’Twaun Moore, Damian Jones, Frank Kaminsky and Ty-Shon Alexander. That’s when TNT cuts to another game.
THE SUNS ARE BLOWING THE PELICANS SO BAD THAT TNT HAS PLAYED FOR A CLOSER GAME. The Kings, whom the Suns just won 13, led the Nuggets at the end of matchday 117-108.
I happy.