PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns will win a fair number of games with what their Big 3 offers on a nightly basis, even if none of them are completely exceptional throughout the game, which is what Phoenix will do in almost every contest received from at least one man.
On Sunday against the Orlando Magic, some great plays from the trio and good defense were enough to secure a 112-107 victory over a team on the rise. It doesn't have to be a continuous, cross-game type of takeover. If the three of them do the things they can do productively while the team outside of them plays solidly, the Suns will pull out wins.
In the game, after Phoenix's ball movement burst and provided good looks on almost every possession, the Suns' primary scorers saw an Orlando defense that was largely willing to defend them directly in man or zone defense. There was hardly any aggressive support or the appearance of a double team until the second half, when things were still quite reserved. Even in extreme examples, like Kevin Durant fielding a smaller guard, the second defender didn't show up.
Bradley Beal confirmed after his return on Friday that his first game back from an ankle sprain was a big step forward in confidence, the part of the recovery that had him not quite at 100%, barely breathing. This was evident on Sunday when he went fully defensive again and gained advantages.
“The more he plays, the more confidence we gain as a group,” Durant said of Beal.
Beal was 10 of 13 from the field, a season-high 25 points. Durant added 31 points with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block, while Devin Booker had 21 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. They all had periods of the evening where they scored at a high level.
And as far as team play goes, Phoenix only managed to win six times against a team that excelled at them. Only two came from the Big 3.
This strategy might be one of the worst ways to outsmart Phoenix, but it's understandable from Orlando's perspective given their defensive strength this season.
Orlando (19-13) was a real test for the Suns to take what has been working lately and apply it against a good team, a label the Magic haven't been able to legitimately carry in some time. They entered the day ranked second in defensive rating and opposing turnover percentage, while ranking second overall in opposing offensive rebounding percentage and points on turnovers per game, with the sixth-best second-chance score per game ( 15.9), according to NBA statistics.
Phoenix's biggest problems in December included its offense, limiting turnovers and finishing possessions with rebounds. If the suns collapsed in these areas, magic would invade them.
The Suns benefited from the passive approach of the Magic defense, but allowed 22 second-chance points in the first half to a subpar offensive team. They should have been more than 20 points ahead, but at halftime the lead was nine points. This was because the ball movement still remained fantastic even in Orlando's rotation, allowing for a balanced attack. By the five-minute mark of the second quarter, all five Suns starters were in double figures.
Orlando briefly showed aggressive concepts, but the Suns fought everything for two and a half quarters. Phoenix combined its execution and rhythm with more speed early in the third quarter, leading to a Beal poster dunk and a ridiculous pass from Grayson Allen, who rejected a layup and threw a flashy no-look feed over his own head An open booker-in made the corner bring the Suns to 15 points.
🚨 BRADLEY BEAL!!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/U7iGriiHTP
– Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 1, 2024
How on earth?! 🤯
Grayson with the support without looking and over his shoulder! pic.twitter.com/gkCZnLOaPM
– Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 1, 2024
But in the final 7:22 of the quarter, Phoenix scored just eight points, letting the Magic get back into the game and trailing by two points by the fourth quarter. There, head coach Frank Vogel said ball movement was somewhat stagnant, a nod to this being a season-long process of perfecting the offensive flow.
In the fourth quarter, Orlando focused on isolated, weaker defenders on counters, where its extremely promising young duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner went to work to keep the game close. There was then a stretch where the Suns failed to convert pull-up jumpers, while defensive communication breakdowns gave up open 3s that the Magic also couldn't knock down. A total of eight points were scored in 3:54 minutes of play, giving the Suns a four-point lead with 3:46 to go.
For someone it would be a missed opportunity, namely Orlando's.
Beal knocked down a jumper that attacked a closeout out of timeout, and a well-defended possession was followed by two points at the foul line for Durant. That little 4-0 run and Phoenix stepping up their defense was all that mattered from then on.
After his great game on Friday, Jusuf Nurkic was constantly a target for the Suns' ballplayers around the basket as they drove, sometimes when he was open and sometimes when he wasn't open. He was less efficient than Friday, 8 of 17, but he was still great on the night with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Nurkic is a big part of what the Suns do on both ends, and he will only look better the longer Phoenix is healthy.
Banchero (28 points) and Wagner (27) combined for 55 points. Watch out for them in the near future.
The Magic had zero second-chance points in the second half after scoring 22 in the first two quarters, a credit to the Suns for fixing the problem.
Phoenix's tally among scoring starters included Allen's 10 points, but the bench had just six total. Eric Gordon was scoreless on three shot attempts, and as is usually the case, the scheme used by the Magic did not allow him to play kick-out passes too much in his direction while the Big 3 dominated the ball in terms of dominance starting possession. Because of this, the scales will swing wildly back and forth on Gordon's production, especially with Beal back.