Toronto Raptors striker Pascal Siakam, left, is trying to control the ball against Phoenix Suns striker Mikal Bridges (25) in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Phoenix. (Photo by AP / Ross D. Franklin)
The Phoenix Suns continue to find a winning formula, while their offensive from the beginning of the five is still returning. Wednesday, with a 123-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors, was a high-level shot + enough defense.
The Suns made 21 threes, one of the franchise’s record. That included a stretch in the second half, where they started an absurd 12-of-15.
Jae Crowder (21 points) hit six, and Cam Johnson (16 points) added four. Phoenix had 30 assists and only 12 turnovers. Cam Payne recorded a large number of 10 career assists (with a single turnover) in just 16 minutes.
“We felt like we could touch the paint, we could get open photos,” said head coach Monty Williams.
Payne was the perfect player to do this, while continuing to prove he is a legitimate backup defender.
“She has other equipment. He has an erotic game and is a willing passer-by, ”Williams said. “The thing with Cam’s permits is that I’m on time and on target. You rarely see him pass the ball up or down. I thought his passes were handy tonight. Its ability to reach the paint really helps us in these situations. “
The Suns defense (6-2) did not reach the pace until the second half and Toronto’s offense (1-6) continued to come throughout the game. While Phoenix’s offense was weird, there were enough deep ball conversions in the first half to replace this and to be four in the middle of a game, it felt like he should have passed. The Raptors had 28 quick break points and reached the season average of 16 at the break.
Phoenix got stuck in the defensive enough in the last 24 minutes to help get a victory.
“They only had 17 assists, so they played dribbling and missed shots,” Williams said. “Defender, we were not bad … you are talking about a desperate team that won a championship. I thought I did enough to win the game. There were stretches where I looked really good and then I gave it back. “
That dam for the Suns of 12 triples in just over 16 minutes to start the second half finally brought a 15-point advantage at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Suns offense found a routine again, however, without scoring for 4:51 during the game and allowing the Raptors to reach six at 2:11.
Mikal Bridges received a foul to stop that race, and Kyle Lowry’s technical foul for Toronto brought a nine-point lead. Even after a strong effort by the Raptors, with complete pressure to make things interesting, they simply did not have enough time to complete a comeback, and the Suns secured the victory.
The Raptors entered the game in a funk, and their star player Pascal Siakam was the most out of action. His maximum season in six games was 22 points, a total he reached in the middle of the third quarter. Siakam’s combination of strength, footwork and agility as a slasher is one of the best on the planet.
He was on Wednesday, to the point where Williams centered Deandre Ayton on him in the second half. The bridges and even Crowder, a very strong guy, were overwhelmed by Siakam. Ayton did everything he could to make a superb save, but even with the help of his teammates, he couldn’t finish. limit it enough in the final quarter to play a role in a Suns win.
“He’s an All-Star and he won a title,” Williams said. “Good players have the ability to get to their places even when you know what they’re going to do, but I thought it was a lot tougher for him in the second half.”
“We thought our aggression was just to draw the line and say, ‘If you’re going to score, you have to score over the length and get through.’ I thought it was much better, “Williams added.
A big part of that was Ayton. He had 16 rebounds in 31 minutes, plus 11 points.
The Suns scored 42 points on the bench, Johnson’s 16 and Dario Saric’s 15 being the most important. Booker finished with six assists to go with 24 points, while Chris Paul provided eight assists and 12 points.
Players will recognize what was mentioned at the top, that, in general, they are still right now as a team. The fact that the Suns can be 6-2, be aware of that and inspire confidence that they will continue to improve is pretty damn remarkable.
“We’re just trying to accumulate victories … it’s a very strange season,” Paul said. “The boys didn’t have a chance to play pickup before the season, there weren’t a lot of practices, so the games look to some extent no matter the moment, because the teams are trying to figure it out and play at the same time, but we just want to win. We just want to accumulate victories. “