Phoenix Suns midfielder Deandre Ayton (22) fires Sacramento Kings defender Tyrese Haliburton (0), who defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, on Thursday, April 15, 2021 , in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Matt York)
PHOENIX: The Phoenix Suns are a great team. This is the basis. It’s right in front of you.
But if you look more closely, you will see that there are additional layers and pieces of support that are added to this base during the second half of the season. It’s a crucial element for candidates in the last two months, which continues to improve before the games that really matter start.
The biggest addition the Suns could have been was an improvement from Deandre Ayton, and that’s what they’ve achieved over the past few weeks, including Thursday’s 122-114 victory over the Sacramento Kings, where Ayton was the difference.
Ayton scored 10 of his 26 points and four of his 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter, and didn’t even record until it was 4:57. With Sacramento at four at the time, Ayton scored on an alley-oop pass from Devin Booker, an offensive rebound two possessions later and on two free throws another two possessions later.
This caused Phoenix to lead to eight and it was 2:36, and the Kings decided that the only other potential response to Ayton was small. The next trip to the Suns, Ayton caught another foul from the Suns to throw free throws. With a seven-point lead and two minutes to go, Phoenix went to stop Ayton on the post, and Ayton delivered a jumper that ended the game.
“I was very happy that DA was the guy on the stretch,” head coach Monty Williams said.
The Kings stayed close to the game most of the night thanks to a night below the defensive average for Phoenix and a good shot throughout the game. Sacramento’s defense was terrible in some stages and the Suns shot 55.8% overnight to counter the number of kings with 55.1%, with 14 triples for each team. In a way, it felt like another game in which the Suns played down and up to their competition.
While Ayton did so offensively, he and the defense got key stops to keep the Kings in line enough as the big man finished the game at the other end.
“We just avoided a win,” Williams said. “We’ll look at it at the end of the season; he won’t say either a win or an ugly win, he’ll just say win and I’m glad we got it.”
Ayton was 10-of-11 from the field, checking those boxes to be active on offensive glass and doing his defensive part as an anchor. Booker added 23 points, while it was another strong night for the bench, with 42 points overall. Jevon Carter led the way with 13 points, while starter Chris Paul handed out 11 assists to finish with 13 points.
Sacramento’s Aaron Fox (27 points) and Buddy Hield (24) added 51 points.
To get back to the topic of a team’s evolution in the regular season, this is what Paul had to say when asked, given the postseason, what it means for Ayton to have moments like Thursday when he was “the boy” during the stretch. :
“I think it’s great for all of us. These games right here just build trust and build trust, “Paul said.” That’s what it’s all about in the playoffs. Sometimes, you’re going to a play or you’re going to a guy (and) you can make or miss a shot. , but one thing about it is trust.
“It’s trust and when you have games like this from all the guys on our team, right now you just build trust, so when you get to the times you live with what’s going on.”
And this is what Ayton said when asked about creating that trust lately:
“After the game, I’m already in the locker room, I just whispered [Paul] and I gave him a slap in the face – I said like, ‘Appreciate me trusting my G,’ ”Ayton said.“ Just trust me, know your teammate believes in you. ” Paul) take your time. [Paul] he taught me to go down the stretch to be ready.
“As I start to go down, the teams start to adjust and adapt, to start doubling, so he just wants me to take my time in long stretches like this and watch the game. Sometimes I just fight the clock instead of trying to score every time. Simply learn the aspects of the game and what is important and what to look for in times of crisis ”.
Imagine a Suns team in the postseason that can turn to Ayton if necessary. This is a thought that will make the Suns fans salivate at the same time as it can be an amazing and disturbing development for the rest of the league.