Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) leads between Orlando Magic striker Dwayne Bacon (8) and center-back Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Sunday February 14, 2021 in Phoenix. (Photo by AP / Rick Scuteri)
Is this like being on the other side?
The Phoenix Suns ’win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday was 109-90, with the Suns needing to move on to the second or third competition for a few stretches during a fairly easy defeat.
This is mainly because the Magic only had eight players available. His star was Nikola Vucevic, but outside of that only Michael Carter-Williams and Terrence Ross were left to be reliable rotating players.
Orlando’s terrible start sure didn’t help at all.
The Magic (10-18) only made one of his first 13 shots. A handful of these were a decent look, but they just looked like a team that was already mentally out of it, blowing up defensive rotations, a Steve Clifford team wouldn’t dare mess up.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker of the Suns scored 17 points in the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, it was Booker 17, Magic 16.
There is a certain level of urgency that a professional sports team needs to win. We’ve all seen how it looks when it’s missing.
It’s also not that the Suns were 100% in any way, but it was enough to get the job done and take a cruise.
There was an 8-0 magic partial in the second quarter to reduce Phoenix’s lead to 15. But after a timeout by head coach Monty Williams, the Suns’ lead never lost. stability.
At the break, the Magic had four points in the paint and zero quick break points.
Phoenix (17-9) kept the lead above 15 all the time. Booker finished with 27 points, Mikal Bridges added 21 and Chris Paul scored 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Orlando shot 37.1% from the field of play.
While there shouldn’t have been much doubt, the Suns could take care of business on Sunday, but there was some concern on the part of the fan base, given the team’s losses. They include an explosive loss in Washington, a no-show at home against Oklahoma City and a rough performance in Detroit.
Entering Sunday, the Suns went 9-6 against teams below .500 and 7-3 against the rest. They had 79 minutes of clutch, the NBA’s highest, so another decisive win or two that wasn’t yet on the record was slightly abnormal given their success. This is not a concern or a complaint about a team that has now won nine of its last ten games. Just a fact about how they are progressing this season.
Not all wins can be like Saturday’s against the Philadelphia 76ers, the win of the season so far.
Winning like they did against the Magic is something the big teams do, and Suns fans should know by now how many have done it in Phoenix in the last two years. In the second game in a row, the execution was nice to watch.
“More than anything, we did what we had to do to win the game,” Williams said. “We had very emotional games in this building. And to win the way we’ve won the last few games, we didn’t even want to talk about a disappointment because we’re not the kind of team that can look at anyone other than (a) respect them.
“So getting in and running our business is huge for us.”