PHOENIX — As Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer phrased it, the “magical question” looms large for how his group responds to a bonkers 119-117 comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
An opening three quarters that was exactly what the Suns have been struggling with over a tailspin of a last two months produced a deficit as large as 23. They then roared back in a 43-22 fourth quarter to complete a heist that film director Steven Soderbergh should consider spinning off to kickstart his next heist franchise.
But with Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL and giving the Suns a chance to re-enter the postseason picture, will there be any carryover?
“That’s been our magical question: How can we do it for more than 48?” Budenholzer said. “That’s going to continue to be our push. How do we capture that good team? There’s a good team (in there).”
This was more about if the Suns can grasp the last dozen minutes.
After they sparked the arena at the end of the first quarter to lead by six, they were outscored 41-19 to go into halftime down 16.
In that quarter, TNT color commentator and long-time NBA coach Stan Van Gundy did not sugarcoat it, describing the Suns’ defense as “pathetic” over nearly two minutes.
Analysis that uninterrupted during the flow of the game is usually reserved for the end of blowouts but it was more than justified to allow a larger audience to understand how horrible the Suns are defensively.
Phoenix is well aware of this type of criticism coming in over the last handful of weeks. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were both heavily engaged defending on the ball. But that is only part of the effort required. As the basketball saying goes, a team defense has to be connected on a string. That string burned into flames three months ago, as did any consistent intention to play transition defense.
The most underrated downside of being bad on defense is how confident it makes other teams. L.A.’s offense was stagnant about 15 minutes in before you could legitimately see the zip in their activity moving the ball increase dramatically because of the possibilities that began opening up. Opponents come to Phoenix and know it’s time to eat.
That made this game feel absolutely over at halftime, even though the Clippers are known for spotty offensive evenings.
But while Phoenix has grown a reputation for folding in games, which it admittedly has done at times, the Suns rarely do that when things get out of hand. Most of the time, they will give some increased effort to get back in the game.
This time around was enough to steal one.
Collin Gillespie comes up big for Suns
Two-way guard Collin Gillespie played the last 14:39 of the game, picking up full court on defense and flying around the floor anywhere he could. Phoenix was down 19 entering the fourth quarter before a quick 11-2 spurt got the deficit down to 10. It looked as simple as one player giving their absolute all and some shots going in being enough for Phoenix to relocate full energy.
Durant looked toward the crowd after Grayson Allen made his 3 and implored them for even more noise, which the crowd obliged him with. Suns fans in the building deserve major credit, as they were rightfully booing the quarter prior but were immediate in providing encouragement when the quality in play changed.
“Just looking around after we were down 20, it looked like they were having a terrible time and I hate putting that type of product on the court. … I survey the crowd because we need them,” Durant said. “We need that energy. And the only way to spark it up is make some plays.”
That run grew to a 24-7 surge in the first five-and-a-half minutes to improbably find Phoenix down two. It was plenty of time for the Clippers to stabilize and regain control but teams can often be overwhelmed and that was the case.
Durant kept rolling, scoring 19 of his 34 points over the final frame before setting up Gillespie for the dagger 3 to put Phoenix ahead 119-114 with 36 seconds remaining.
The free-throw shenanigans almost resulted in a disaster. With the Suns up three and the Clippers without timeouts at 5.2 ticks left, Booker missed both his free throws before wisely fouling James Harden, who made the first before purposefully whiffing on the second.
A loose ball ensued that Los Angeles’ Kawhi Leonard managed to get a shot off that was actually a perfect pass to Ivica Zubac on the other side of the basket. His open tip-in that would have sent the game to overtime somehow was too strong and went off the other side of the rim to end it.
Gillespie finished with 10 points, two rebounds and three assists. He was +21.
“I always love how Collin is poised and he’s a dog. He cares,” Durant said, noting how Gillespie was one of the most vocal guys in the locker room after Sunday’s loss he referred to as a “disaster.”
Gillespie spoke on the energy he brought that shifted the game.
“I take pride in that stuff,” he said. “I play that way. I’ve always played that way. … Normally when you play hard and you compete, good things happen. It was really just a credit to my teammates. They picked their energy level up, we started getting stops, we started running — that’s kind of human nature when things are going well, right?”
Gillespie should start on Friday in Denver against the Nuggets. Budenholzer should send a direct message for what will get minutes and what won’t. A rotation spot isn’t loud enough. Start him.
Durant played 41 minutes to end up with 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks. Greatness was on display in that fourth quarter.
Zubac continued his tremendous season for the Clippers with a career-high 35 points on 15-of-19 shooting. He greatly benefitted from Phoenix’s woeful off-ball defense and was punishing any matchup he got in the post.
The Suns limited themselves to only 11 turnovers and managed to keep it close in points off turnovers at 17-15 Clippers, while second-chance points were 9-5 Suns. How the Suns were not only running off Los Angeles’ turnovers in the fourth quarter but off misses should have been the standard all year.
Tuesday was the latest game to feature Durant having a heated conversation Budenholzer, with this one getting captured by the national TV broadcast. The viral clip did not include the aftermath, which was Budenholzer and Durant both looking to come away positively from the entire interaction.
“That’s what usually happens when you don’t know the dynamics of a relationship,” Durant said of it. “You catch something on TV, you get a quote and now you pushing that narrative as if Bud and I don’t do that [expletive] all the time. We’re competitive as two individuals who want to see things done the right way. And sometimes my way ain’t the way that Bud want to do it, and vice versa.
“And he allows me as a player on the team, as a veteran on the team, to voice my opinion. If we both didn’t care, we would never have stuff like that. I’m glad that the win is going to sweep all of that stupid stuff under the rug because people couldn’t wait, even some people in Phoenix in here couldn’t wait to run with that stuff.”
Durant also elaborated on his relationship with the crowd and that aforementioned moment, letting something off his chest in regards to what booing does for a team.
“I always wonder what booing is going to do for your team? It actually makes no sense,” Durant said. “If you really wanted to make your voice heard, just get up and leave and we’ll feel that more than you booing. So, we need energy. When we down 20, we need y’all to get a little louder in there. That was my thing once I started talking to the crowd like, ‘Yeah, booing has been a part of sports culture for the last 50, 60 years but I think it’s about time we put that up. …’
“The energy that they showed, how loud they get on a good night is second to none, so I wanted to ignite that as much as possible and I’m sitting there like, ‘Yo, what the [expletive]. Get yo ass up. Do something for us.’ They responded well. It’s nothing but love with this fanbase.”
And last but certainly not least, Durant on the type of mindset the Suns need to have in the last 20 games of the season with where they are in the standings.
“I think everybody needs to bring that playoff-type intensity of the focus every possession,” Durant said. “I think that more than anything, just focusing on every possession and building on good possessions and not letting bad things compound themselves. … We gotta get on our horse and see what we can do. That pressure should be fun for us.”
Time will quickly tell if that answer to the magical question is indeed reflected on the court.
