Cam Johnson (23) Devin Booker (1) and Chris Paul (3) of the Phoenix Suns celebrate Johnson’s last second of 3 points to end the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of a basketball game. NBA Monday, February 22, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Darryl Webb)
PHOENIX – Since an epic meltdown against Brooklyn Nets last Tuesday, Phoenix Suns have been self-conscious to keep a cool head.
It was said several times by several players after a 132-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
The Suns are just stuck.
The result was three consecutive wins by unbalanced quarters. In 12-minute bursts last week, the Phoenix beat New Orleans by 29, Memphis by 18 and the Blazers by 20.
In the third quarter against Portland at the Phoenix Suns Arena, the Suns used the pressure defense, 12 points from Devin Booker and nine more from Deandre Ayton to end the night.
Phoenix (20-10) kept Portland in 7 of 23 shots (30%) and hit 60% to beat the Blazers in the period.
“I love it when we defend the way we did,” said Suns coach Monty Williams. “They scored 17 points in the third quarter. That for me was the game, right there. “
Booker had 34 points at the end of the night. It was 10 points more than Damian Lillard of Portland, a viable MVP candidate who averaged 30 points and led a team without CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins to an 18-12 mark.
Lillard still scored 24 points and added seven assists in 29 minutes.
The Suns, however, used small doses of full court pressure from Mikal Bridges to stop Portland’s attack and then aggressively protected themselves on the screens, forcing Lillard to drive.
“It’s a term we use: cut off the snake’s head,” said Devin Booker of the defense with a focus on Lillard. “With guys like him, if there’s a guy like him, you have to keep going.
“Just make it difficult for him. No man can stop him. “
The Suns’ help defense held up well, despite the second quarter’s instability against pick-and-roll. After that “muddy” period, in Williams’ words, Phoenix came out of the break with a tear, scoring 10 points in four turns.
“We have a lot of respect for this team and for Damian,” said Williams. “He’s destroying the league now.”
A game after securing second-year point guard Ja Morant with 12 points – awarded in just 28 minutes during an explosion – Bridges started strong against Lillard.
He caused a turn in defense by pressing Lillard and causing a Blazer to throw the ball out of range. Later, Bridges blocked Lillard’s advance at the edge.
Lillard had three twists in the first quarter and six at the end of the night.
He went 1-to-7 beyond the arc while the Suns extended their defensive starting point to prevent him from attacking more than 27 feet away.
“I think he doesn’t play with the ball … if you are supported, he will kick, if you press, he is passing you,” said Bridges before the game on Monday. “It hits you with a dribble that you can bite, but it gives you a chance to recover.
“I think he makes that deliberate move and takes your balance away. He knows what he does. He’s an incredible player. “
During his final three seconds on the court on Monday, Lillard found himself defending Booker, who earned his place on the All-Star as an alternate last season.
Booker hit a three-point retreat that put Phoenix ahead by 26 points with 2.6 seconds remaining.
The Blazers immediately launched a pass into the field that went straight out of bounds. So the Suns, under their own basket, passed the ball to Cam Johnson for a corner three on the bell that crowned the huge 12 minutes and looked like the official mark of a Phoenix victory.
The end of the third looked like an encapsulation of the entire game.
Williams said that communication and understanding of his defensive scheme played a role in the wake of three unbalanced quarterly games in favor of Phoenix.
Of the twists that helped the entire game, Williams started by crediting Bridges, who added 10 points, five assists and two blocks.
“I think Mikal Bridges is a big part of that,” said Williams. “His ability to protect difficult offensive players, and often his length, he gets his hands on a lot of balls or forces a lot of hangtime passes because he is long. From behind, our guys can get robberies or diversions. “
The break helped stabilize Ayton, who finished with 19 points, five rebounds and two blocks. He found himself the target of pick-and-roll actions towards the end of the second quarter, but recovered to help Phoenix in the third.
At the end of the period, he stood in front of Lillard in an ink attack and forced a trip. Seconds later, Ayton hit the offensive glass hard and dipped the ball to put Phoenix ahead 86-65.
Lillard, incidentally, probably exerted a little energy in the beginning when defending Booker, a move that exemplified his competitiveness, but backfired on the court against a player three or more centimeters from him.
Booker scored Phoenix’s first six points in the night and finished with 17 points in the first quarter. At the end of the third quarter and in just 29 minutes, Booker had made 34 points out of 12 out of 17 shots.
Still, it was that defense that flourished in an uncontrolled train offensive to the Suns.
By the end of the night, they had forced 17 turns for 24 points.
“As soon as we stop, everyone will be confident on the other end of the line,” said Bridges. “It makes you play more confident when you know that when you get more stops in defense, you can go out and be more aggressive because you get stops. That’s how you play basketball. “