Suns Lose to Another Bottom of the League Team
- Matt Elvy
- Mar 25, 2021
- 3 min read
Phoenix couldn't capitalise on the momentum they started in Miami, losing 112-111 in Orlando.
Going to put this straight out there. We should have won this game. The Magic have the 4th worst record in the league and the Suns had (going in to last night's game) the 2nd best record in the league. Phoenix have now lost to 4 of the 5 worst teams in the league.
Was it Orlando's orange jerseys that caused this? Maybe the Suns though it was an intra-squad scrimmage? Joking aside I think the Suns are now a team that has a target on their back. The Magic have also been the centre of most of the trade chatter going in to today's trade deadline, so probably felt they had something to prove. They simply played up to our level and deserved the result they got. I joked to Orlando Magic UK today that at least we've helped boost Fournier's trade value going in to today.
On the face of things, the Suns didn't seem to do anything particularly wrong in the game. We had 3 20-point scorers in Ayton, Booker & CP3. Usually a strong area for us is our bench, but tonight it only provided 20 points, with 10 of those coming from Torrey Craig, who has seamlessly fit in with this Suns team.
The game stayed close throughout. The Suns had gained a lead of 13 in the 1st quarter, but Orlando fought back and both teams went in to half time tied at 59.
Phoenix looked to take the game over in the 3rd, as did the night before in Miami and as they have many times throughout the season. Unlike the Heat, Orlando would continue to fight.
The 4th quarter is where things really went south for us. The team went completely cold, only converting 7 of their 23 attempted shots in the quarter, for 20 points. The Magic on the other hand shot 50% in the period.
The game came down to the last 2 possessions. Evan Fournier drove to the hoop to put the Magic up 112 to 111, with 6 seconds remaining. Phoenix called a timeout to draw up a play for the win, but couldn't execute. Paul inbounded the ball to Booker, who drove baseline, attempting a reverse lay-up. The ball bounced off the backboard and Vucevic secured the rebound. Following the game Booker said, "I really didn't know exactly where I was at." I know he(CP3) led me far and didn't know if I was too far under the hoop or not. Probably should've just turned and shot it, but there's a lot of possessions before that lead to it." He also added, "I think it shouldn’t have even been that close of a game to begin with” I completely agree.
Booker finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Chris Paul had 23, 6 and 7 and Ayton added 21 points, long with 9 rebounds.
The good news is that we tend to bounce back after a loss and we'll be visiting a Raptors team that may have been ravaged by a big day dealing some of their key players.
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