Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, left, tries to control the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin)
The Phoenix Suns continue to find a winning formula while the attack of their first five is still interlocking. Wednesday in a 123-115 win over the Toronto Raptors, the shooting was high level + enough defense.
The Suns made 21 threes, one from the franchise record. That included a stretch in the second half where they started an absurd 12-of-15.
Jae Crowder (21 runs) hit six and Cam Johnson (16 runs) added four. Phoenix had 30 assists and only 12 sales. Cam Payne registered a career-high 10 assists (with one turnover) in just 16 minutes.
“We just felt that if we could touch the paint, we could get open shots,” said head coach Monty Williams.
Payne was the perfect player to do that as he continues to prove himself a legit backup point guard.
‘He has a different gear. He has a recognizable jerkiness to his game and he is a willing passer-by, ”said Williams. “The advantage of Cam’s passes is that they are on time and on schedule. You rarely see him pass the ball high or low. I thought his steps were good tonight. His ability to get to the paint really helps us in those situations. “
The Suns (6-2) defense didn’t get going until the second half and Toronto’s (1-6) attack kept coming throughout the game. Although Phoenix’s offense was clumsy, there were enough deep ball conversions in the first half to crowd that out, and four were ahead in the half of a game. of 16 at halftime.
Phoenix closed in the last 24 minutes defensively enough to secure a win.
“They only had 17 assists, so they played the dribble and the missing shots,” said Williams. “We weren’t bad defensively… you’re talking about a desperate team that has won a championship. I thought we had done enough to win the game. There were pieces where we looked really good and then we gave it back. “
That barrage for the Suns of 12 three-pointers in just over 16 minutes to start the second half finally put it on a 15-point lead in the early fourth quarter.
However, The Suns’ offense found another grind, failing to score for 4:51 of playing time and the Raptors in six picks with 2:11 to go.
Mikal Bridges got an error to stop that run and Kyle Lowry’s technical foul for Toronto put it nine points ahead. Even after a strong push from the Raptors with full push to make things interesting, they just didn’t have enough time to make a comeback and the Suns secured victory.
The Raptors entered the game in a funk and their star player Pascal Siakam was the most out of use. His six-game season was 22 points, a total he reached in the middle of the third quarter. Siakam’s combination of strength, footwork and agility as a slasher is one of the best in the world.
He had it on Wednesday, to the point where Williams put center Deandre Ayton on him in the second half. Bridges and even Crowder, a very strong man, were caught off guard by Siakam. Ayton did his best by playing a strong defensive game in general, but even with his on-ball ability, he couldn’t stop the All-Star wing scoring a game-high 32. With a nod to Siakam’s dominant play, the Suns did. limit him enough in the last quarter to play a part in a Suns victory.
“He’s an All-Star and he’s won a title,” said Williams. “The good players have the opportunity to get in their place, even if you know what they are going to do, but I thought it was a lot harder for him in the second half.”
‘I thought our aggression would just draw the line and say,’ If you’re going to score, you have to score along the length and run through us. “I thought that was a lot better,” added Williams.
Much of that was Ayton. He had 16 rebounds in 31 minutes, plus 11 points.
The Suns scored 42 bench points, with Johnson’s 16 and Dario Saric’s 15 accounting for most of them. Booker finished with six assists to go with his 24 points, while Chris Paul delivered eight assists and 12 points.
The players will admit to what was mentioned at the top that they are still generally as a team. The fact that the Suns can be 6-2 still be aware of that and instills confidence that they will continue to improve is quite remarkable.
“We’re just trying to pile on wins… it’s a very strange season,” said Paul. “Guys didn’t get a chance to play pick-up for the season, it wasn’t a lot of practice, so the games are looking a bit at the moment because teams are trying to figure it out and play at the same time, but we just want to win. We just want to pile on wins. “