The road trip opened with a punch in the mouth, as the Suns got blitzed early in Miami. Honestly, it felt inevitable. Erik Spoelstra does not lose sleep over three straight road losses. He sharpens knives. The Heat came home ready, shot 57% from the floor, hit 7 threes, and tried to bury Phoenix before the luggage was unpacked.
But this version of the Suns does not fold. They do not flinch. They came out swinging after halftime, outscored Miami 67-56, forced 6 steals, got 2 techs, and turned the paint into a battleground. Devin Booker went down, then came back, and that matters. Had this been last year, I don’t know if he would have returned. There is a togetherness with this group that feels real. They want the fight. They want it together. And Booker displayed leadership by doing so.
Phoenix even held a late lead, but sometimes the basketball gods get weird. Bam Adebayo started impersonating Steph Curry from deep, and that was that. You cannot win them all.
Now we turn our focus to Booker’s ankle, which is of note, especially with Jalen Green already out Thursday in Detroit. Six games. East Coast. Physical. No freebies. This trip just turned into a full-scale stress test. Game on.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Rolls Royce! He’s starting to get on one of those heaters, and now he’s up to three total BSBs on the season.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 40 against the Heat. Here are your nominees:
Grayson Allen
25 points (9-of-19, 6-of-14 3PT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, -2 +/-
Dillon Brooks
25 points (11-of-24, 1-of-10 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, +1 +/-
Devin Booker
24 points (6-of-19, 1-of-5 3PT), 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, -3 +/-
Mark Williams
18 points (8-of-13), 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -6 +/-
Collin Gillespie
13 points (4-of-8, 3-of-7 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 turnovers, +8 +/-
Royce O’Neale
8 points (3-of-10, 2-of-8 3PT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +3 +/-
Vote away…