They all count equally, they say.
The Phoenix Suns somehow managed to eke out a 116-115 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday despite a sloppy, disjointed performance.
Phoenix committed 22 turnovers, most of which were unforced errors, resulting in 30 Bulls points, and also experienced some significant goal losses. The Suns had several chances to eliminate Chicago in the second half, but did not score a field goal in the remaining 4:45 minutes of regulation.
The next goal came on a Keita Bates-Diop 3 nearly four minutes into the five-minute overtime period, bringing Phoenix within one point. He then played outstanding defense on back-to-back one-on-one plays for DeMar DeRozan to give the Suns another chance, and Jusuf Nurkic’s difficult finish with seven seconds left sealed the win.
Nurkic gives PHX the lead back!!
Seconds remain in OT 👀
Sun Bulls | Live on the NBA app
📲: https://t.co/QPNRiLoJ3U pic.twitter.com/4j3iyvSvz6– NBA (@NBA) November 9, 2023
The Bulls threw tough double teams at Kevin Durant at every opportunity and put All-Defense guard Alex Caruso on him to control Durant and limit his rebounding opportunities. The ball rotations were usually either poor or resulted in a missed open 3.
Bradley Beal made his Suns debut but was on a minutes restriction, so he didn’t see any extended action and Phoenix didn’t have much of a secondary given the struggles of Eric Gordon (1-9) and the absence of Devin Booker (strained right calf). Offensive player offered.
Here, Grayson Allen made a number of big shots and set a new career high with eight 3s and a team-high 26 points as well as nine rebounds and four assists.
Like Allen, Nurkic also had his best game as a Sun. After going through quite a bit of turmoil there early in the season, he handled himself well around the rim and was essentially the focal point of the offense after Durant was doubled up with the ball. According to Stathead, Nurkic finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, becoming the first Phoenix player since Charles Barkley in 1996 to score at least those points in a game.
And Bates-Diop was the third newcomer to have his best performance this season. His box score of seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks doesn’t reveal how impactful he was. He started again for the third time in a row.
Durant added 25 points, six rebounds, nine assists, two steals, one block and six turnovers.
Phoenix scored 25 points in the first 6:30 of the game before finishing with just 32 more points over the final 17:30 of the first half. Chicago’s defense was unable to get very active and physical early in the game, which the Suns were unable to do midway through the rest of the game.
Beal was a standout early, putting Phoenix up 18 points in under six minutes. He served Nurkic for two assists and also made two completely open Durant threes thanks to extra defensive attention on a Nurkic shot and excessive helping.
Beal was noticeably fatigued in parts of the game, likely reflecting the fact that back injuries in particular can cause players to be behind schedule when ramping up, as that process took less than a full week for Beal despite missing nearly a month. He checked in for the final three minutes of regulation time but did not play in overtime. Beal was 3 of 12 from the field and scored eight points with four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes.
Although the Bulls had their own chaotic plays, this was a really good performance from them as the game began midway through the first quarter. Caruso was all over the place with 19 points, DeRozan contributed 22 and Nikola Vucevic led the way with 26.