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Where do the Phoenix Suns stand in the NBA after another nail-biter?

Vaseline November 9, 2024

DALLAS – Another thriller. Another win.

The Phoenix Suns are 5-0 in games decided by four points or less after escaping with a 114-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks in front of a sellout crowd of 20,277 at the American Airlines Center Friday.

Jusuf Nurkic hit the second of two free throws after missing the first with 0.8 seconds left after the sixth foul on Mav’s big Daniel Gafford was reviewed and determined it happened before time expired.

Below, Luka Doncic nearly answered a Dallas prayer with a 38-footer that just missed the buzzer.

Kevin Durant led the Suns (8-1) with 26 points, while all five Phoenix starters reached double figures. Royce O’Neale came off the bench to score 18 points, going 4-for-4 from 3 and missing just one of his eight attempts from the field.

Doncic led all scorers with 30, while Kyrie Irving went for 29 for Dallas as all of their starters also reached double figures. However, they couldn’t make up for the lack of bench production compared to Phoenix.

The Mavs (5-4) had nine bench points, nine fewer than O’Neale generated alone. The Suns finished the game with 28 bench points.

There were 15 ties and 15 lead changes.

The Suns were minus Ryan Dunn, who sat out a sprained left ankle he suffered in the second half of Wednesday’s win over the Miami Heat.

Devin Booker played through an illness after being listed as questionable two hours before the game, while Bradley Beal reinstated after being listed as probable with a right elbow sprain.

The Mavs were without Dante Exum (right wrist surgery), Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury), Dereck Lively II (right shoulder sprain) and PJ Washington (right knee sprain).

Here are some tips from another nail-biter that again ended in Phoenix’s favor. The Suns will look to extend their seven-game winning streak at home Sunday against Sacramento at 6 p.m

Where do the Suns rank in the NBA?

The Suns have the second-longest active win streak with seven straight victories. Only the undefeated 10-0 Cleveland Cavaliers have won more games in a row.

The Suns are easily one of the five best teams in the NBA.

They’re taking and making 3s (15 of 39 Friday night), getting timely defensive stops, protecting the ball and Durant has been, as Mavs coach Jason Kidd said before the game, “a bucket” in the closing moments of a game.

However, they continue to get into these close relationships after wasting double-digit leads. They will get the win by about twenty points, but the ball is now bouncing their way.

Let’s go back to Monday’s two-point win over Philadelphia.

Grayson Allen came up with a huge offensive rebound to give the Suns an extra possession that Durant cashed in with a game-winning drive with 24 seconds left.

What if they don’t get the offensive rebound?

Fast forward to Friday’s thriller.

Nurkic said he was supposed to make the first one and miss the second one at the end on purpose.

He missed the first one. What if Nurkic fails on the second foul and the game goes into overtime? The 7-footer posted a third consecutive double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, but would have been the goat had Dallas come away with the win in OT.

On the other hand, they show a clutch gene and mental toughness to battle through adversity, two qualities the Suns lacked last season.

Plus, this team is winning without Booker being his usual self. He scored just 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting Friday, going 1-for-8 from 3 and the Suns still won.

However, those game-high 12 assists to zero turnovers helped the cause Friday night. Booker almost had more dimes than the Mavericks as a team (18).

Booker has an impact on winning in other ways: He’s averaged 8.8 assists in his last five games, but taking care of the ball Friday was huge. The Suns had just nine turnovers, leading to just seven Dallas points.

In turn, the Mavs committed only 11 turnovers, but Phoenix scored 15 points from them.

Still think the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder are better. The Cavaliers are certainly playing better, as the last undefeated team led Golden State by as many as 41 points in a 136-117 game.

However, an argument can be made that the Suns are the NBA’s best team because they have played a tougher schedule than the Thunder and Celtics.

One thing is certain. In a close match, Phoenix was better than anyone else.

Out of timeout

The Suns have shown they can get out of timeouts and go on the run.

Coach Mike Budenholzer provides some magic coming out of timeouts with his latest gem, leading to Bradley Beal hitting a 3 and cutting the Dallas lead to three, 97-94, with 7:30 to go.

“I thought this was one of the biggest assets and big players in the game,” Budenholzer said. “I think Tyus (Jones) got in the paint, had a couple different looks coming off the ATO and Tyus got in the paint and kicked it to Brad, great play by Tyus. Great shot by Brad. At the right time .”

This was a guy dealing with a sweaty elbow he put on ice after the game, shooting 1-for-7 from 3 but delivering the biggest triple of the night.

It started with a 7-0 run and gave Phoenix a 98-97 lead as Beal scored five of the seven points and Jones added the other two. Jones was super aggressive, scoring 17 points and going 3-for-5 from 3, while Beal added 15 points.

Budenholzer’s substitution patterns continue to defy the norm, but the Suns come out on top. Allen went 0-for-4 from the field, but Budenholzer brought him into the game on that final Dallas possession.

O’Neale; the sun’s biggest X-factor

The Suns have been much more than the Big 3 this season. Several players have contributed outside of Booker, Durant and Beal.

Ryan Dunn has been a surprising newcomer. Mason Plumlee thrives in his role as a screener and finisher around the basket. And Jones does what the Suns signed him to do: find people, protect the ball, push the tempo and knock down open 3s.

These three are legitimate candidates, but the early winner for Suns X-factor is O’Neale.

He is hitting 3s at a career clip of 52.6%.

Reread that. He is 20 of 38 after a 4 of 4 explosion on Friday night.

O’Neale was the five-man, battling the bigs when the Suns went small. He guarded the opponent’s best offensive perimeter player, creating the bounce for himself and his teammates in the halfcourt and in transition.

With O’Neale, the Suns become bigger on the perimeter, but he has good guard skills to move the ball in the half.

He came into camp in great shape and is playing like an early sixth-man prospect.

Do you have an opinion on the current state of the suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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