Trying to determine what felt more surprising.
The loss to a team with the worst record in the NBA was staggering, even if seven of Phoenix’s 13 losses were to teams that were losing at the time the Suns were playing them.
On the other hand, it was also crazy on Friday to see Monty Williams get thrown as the head coach of Suns for the first time. He had not received a technician since his acquisition in Phoenix in the 2019-20 period.
“If Coach Mont gets upset, it has to be something legitimate,” said Devin Booker, Suns all-star guardian. “I don’t know what he was kicked out for. He doesn’t say a swear word. I don’t know what it could have been.”
While Williams’ ejection, something he said had never happened to him, had turned his head, the Minnesota defeat in Thursday’s first home game, which saw rookies Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined 83 points scored, crazy.
The Suns (27-13) have avoided losing two games in a row for the first time since late January, but they are still falling to teams that are not at their level according to the record.
Here’s a look back at Phoenix ‘back-to-back games against the Timberwolves (10-32) and Sunday’s showdown against defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers (28-14) to a homestand with five games in to finish the Phoenix Suns Arena.
The Lakers will have to do without LeBron James, who only played eleven minutes in Saturday’s home defeat to Atlanta after injuring his right ankle in the first half.
Thursday’s Player of the Game: Devin Booker
The league’s COVID-19 restrictions prevented the Kentucky brothers and close friends from meeting after Thursday’s game, but Towns couldn’t imagine connecting with Booker, even under normal pre-pandemic conditions.
“After the close game we had tonight and the way it went for us, I don’t think D-Book is going to be in the ‘hey, let’s hang out’ kind of mood,” said a smiling Towns.
Probably correct, especially after Booker scored just one point in one night in the fourth quarter. Edwards broke out for a career high of 42 and Towns hit a season high of 41.
Booker finished the race on a team high of 35 and added six assists. Without that, Phoenix won’t build a 15-point lead in the third.
His strong five sales, two of which came in the fourth, added to the sales issue when Phoenix signed 22, resulting in 23 Minnesota points.
When Williams saw a lack of execution and the Edwards Towns show, he took sole responsibility for the angry loss.
The next night he is ejected.
We’ll check this again later.
Player of the Friday Match: Chris Paul
The eleven-time all-star was in an unprecedented space.
His head coach was kicked out for the first time. Ever.
“I think he was really crazy, but I think he was also trying to give us a spark,” said Paul.
His former teammate, Sun’s assistant Willie Green, took over.
“Willie G did a great job,” Paul continued. “It’s crazy to have a team-mate, a brother like that, who comes to the coach, especially at a moment like this, without knowing that you will be pushed into this situation.”
Then Paul did what he did.
Lead and win.
The seasoned point guard ended the game with 20 points and nine assists when he extended Booker’s 9-0 shooting down in the second half.
Booker only managed one point after the break when he finished at 16. Between his frustration and Josh Okogie’s defense, Booker just didn’t have it.
Fortunately for Phoenix, Paul and a few others did.
Mikal Bridges scored 17 points, with 10 finishing fourth on a perfect 4 out of 4 (2 out of 2 out of 3). Phoenix knocked down 51.9% of its 3s (14 out of 27).
48 hours
Williams experienced a number of back-to-back emotions
Disappointment: Took sole responsibility for the loss.
Regret: Phoenix took a 15-point lead in the second half when he missed the opportunity to get even closer to Western leader Utah, who lost in Washington Thursday night.
Motivation: Williams was keen to better prepare his team for the rematch.
Anger: Let’s stay here a minute.
The number of no-calls reached a boiling point for Williams as he walked away from Referee Scott Twardoski at 7:17 in the first half after the first tech, then approached him again, leading to the second tech and subsequent ejection.
“Officials don’t change the game that way,” said Williams. “Players win games and players lose games, but tonight I just thought it was a bit frustrating in the first half when we didn’t get any calls.”
Williams said they had a “big” pre-game discussion that no-calls shouldn’t be a distraction.
“I thought it hurt us lately,” he said.
Then it is ejected.
Still have a one-liner.
Strange: Williams said this is how he felt when he saw the game from behind.
Williams has a playoff team, which means he faces even more criticism when the Suns play poorly, let alone lose. External expectations have evolved from the playoffs to a deep playoff run.
Phoenix still has 32 regular season games. The suns won’t all win, but a team that can win every night raises expectations and intensifies the trial.
No Davis and no James for the rematch
With that drama behind them, the Suns will face the Lakers for the second time this regular season, but they have played two preseason games in Phoenix.
Definitely familiarity here, but the March 2nd game at the STAPLES Center was insane.
Booker was ejected in the third quarter after two fast techs like Williams on Friday. The Suns won at 10 when Davis failed with the calf load.
Davis is still out and now James will also miss Sunday’s rematch on NBATV.
Kyle Kuzma said he has never heard James scream like this with an injury, while Montrezl Harrell added that the four-time NBA MVP is in “extremely bad pain.”
The Lakers suffered a 99-94 defeat against Atlanta on Saturday, which improved to 8-0 under Nate McMillan, who replaced the sacked Lloyd Pierce.
Sorry to digress, but the hawks are on fire.
The Lakers played without James and Davis in a 123-120 loss on March 3 in Sacramento when Kuzma missed a 3 on Summer.
“We’ve been in this situation before and it’s really about responding to it,” said Harrell.
With the Suns battling less competition this week, how they approach and play against the Lakers, who will be without their two superstars, makes this game even more important.
The suns are back in second place in the west. You’ll own the tiebreaker with a win on Sunday when the two meet again on May 9 in Los Angeles.
Great game for both of them.
Do you have an opinion on the current state of the sun? Reach Sun’s Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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