Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) throws himself against Houston Rockets goalie Kevin Porter Jr. (3) in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game in Houston on Monday, April 5, 2021. (Troy Taormina / Pool Photo via AP)
After winning the 133-130 months for the Phoenix Suns over the Houston Rockets, they received a back-to-back against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers, two of the best teams in the Western Conference.
This is a good thing for the Suns for several reasons, one of them being their insistence on removing bad teams before they become chaotically useless over time.
Despite the Rockets losing 26 of their last 28 games on Monday and without several key players like John Wall and Eric Gordon, they averaged a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to a three-point lead at 7:22.
From there, Devin Booker continued his own 10-0 round in 71 seconds and played an important role in the game, becoming closed.
However, after they had 117-109 suns, at 4:20 of the end, Houston managed with 5-0 to reach a possession. And even after a quick 8-0 run by Phoenix to answer that, to finally get to nine with 1:04 left, the Rockets dropped the lead again to three, 21 seconds later, after a turnover on the back field by Jae Crowder.
The Suns made enough free throws to do so, so they weren’t really threatened to lose the game, but sheesh. It’s as if there is a hex that hangs over these games and continues to trigger. Regardless, there are now six wins in a row and a record of 35-14.
Booker finished with 36 points, six rebounds and six assists. That outburst in Booker’s fourth quarter, which he turned into a balloon signing, was pleasing to see after his recent fights in the final.
Deandre Ayton had one of his best games of the year. He reached 27 points and 11 rebounds in 10-of-14 shooting.
Mikal Bridges added 20 points and was a 19-point ho-hum, five rebounds, 11 assists and four steals from Chris Paul in just nine shot attempts.
Enjoy this enchanting fake / yo-yo dribble pass from Paul to set Booker in a key point of the game so that we don’t get too far away from him, soaking in that greatness of God Just for a moment.
The rockets played great at night, especially considering the name they were on. Christian Wood (23 points), Kelly Olynyk (21), Kevin Porter Jr. (20), Jae’Sean Tate (18), Sterling Brown (16), Kevin Martin Jr. (13) and DJ Augustin (11) have there were seven double-digit missiles. The team as a whole shot 17 of 33 (51.5%) in the three-point range.
Houston is a team that makes a lot of defensive changes, so when the Suns did it alone, they played in what the Rockets do well. It’s okay because Phoenix has to work on it, and the way Houston did elementary ball rotations to exploit it showed the growth the Suns still need in that area.
This allowed the Rockets to be in the game until the middle of the second quarter, where the Suns clearly increased their defensive intensity.
On the other hand, when Ayton returned in the second quarter, the Suns attacked the center of the center for three years, which head coach Monty Williams called “intentional.”
Some fans have complained about this since the big guy arrived in the valley and it is understandable given the decent percentage of teams in the entire league that do not have a sea that matches Ayton. But his inconsistencies with an aggressive mentality not only in the ball post, but also in establishing the position before that, did not see the Suns able to benefit as much as possible.
This year, specifically, the recordings of positions have become more challenging for Ayton than before, due to the ability of defenders to get their hands on the ball and hit it. And with the lack of consistency, it led to a lack of chemistry built with Ayton and those players who gave him passes.
All this is to emphasize how it can look when all click, because it was Monday.
“I thought his level was high when he got the ball into the goal,” Williams said.
Ayton, at a list of 250 pounds, exceeds the top 5 Wood in Houston (listed at 214 pounds) by more than 30 pounds, so there is an obvious mismatch between sizes. Ayton did so, forcing Wood to foul him in the battle on the block, and Ayton was assertive when he scored on Wood.
“If teams are trying to keep a slightly smaller game, rather a pick-and-pop guy like Wood, then we have to exploit this mismatch,” Booker said. “We played through him and he didn’t shy away from contact. It passed right through him, reaching the edge. ”
You wouldn’t know that, that brought the passengers to the free throw line. Ayton equaled his season high with eight tries there, turning seven.
When Ayton plays confidently offensively, it’s like getting a cold glass of water on your face. He’s a different player than the one I’ve seen most of the season, one who has found a groove and is fully paced.
Ayton went to Wood ca. he knew Wood couldn’t stop him. Check out Wood’s body language below as this photo enters the end of the third trimester.
That requires the will of the opposition. As Booker pointed out, he came during a game in which Ayton missed two bunnies earlier, but Ayton wouldn’t let him take him down the rest of the night.
“He’s just a force there when he wants to be and I think he feeds on the trust we place in him,” Williams said.
Ayton scored all 27 points in the first three quarters, 15 of them only in the third and another 10 in the second. The Suns didn’t bring the ball to him in the fourth, nor did he run much for him, proof of both things he needs to improve on and also rightly rarely felt the need to make the most of the season.
Williams recalled a lot of what I heard at Ayton since his debut year.
“It simply came to our notice then. I don’t think he understands how big and strong he is and how much he can use it to his advantage, “Williams said. “I think putting him in those situations and being successful can increase confidence for him, but I don’t think he really knows how dominant the paint can be.”