Jae Crowder # 99 of the Phoenix Suns high fives Deandre Ayton # 22, Chris Paul # 3, Devin Booker # 1 and Jevon Carter # 4 after an error on a three-point shot during the first half of the NBA game against Oklahoma City Thunder in the Phoenix Suns Arena on April 2, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns played as if they remembered what happened the last time they played the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A loss in late January put the Suns 8-8 and led to a post-game rant from head coach Monty Williams in his media session.
The Suns have had the inability to put away many inferior teams this season, but Friday night was not one of those nights. They smashed the Thunder 140-103.
Phoenix led 43-13 through the first quarter. That was a season high for points and season low for points allowed in the first quarter. It was the first 30-point to a quarter difference in franchise history, according to Basketball-Reference, and the 13th time in league history that a team had risen at least 30 after the first 12 minutes.
After the game went up 5-5, the Suns went 38-8 to end the quarter. At one point it was a 19-0 sprint.
The defense was all over a Thunder (20-28) squad with no bodies, as they were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley and Mike Muescala. But even with those key names missing Wednesday, the Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors, something that was certainly highlighted in preparation.
OKC shot 4-of-25 (16.0%) of the field in that first quarter with six sales.
Offensively, the tone was immediately set by the two All-Stars of the Suns. Chris Paul had a rare opening where he wanted to establish himself as a goalscorer by shooting 3-for-3 from the field, while Devin Booker had 16 points in the opening period.
While some peaks would come from thunder, Phoenix (34-14) did a good job of resetting when it did. Oklahoma City got the deficit back to 18 in the second and third quarters, but in the third Williams called a timeout and then his team responded with a 21-12 run to increase the lead back to 27.
“I liked the reaction in the group,” said Williams. “Our boys regret a lot when things aren’t done properly or when we know we can play better. When we get those kinds of reactions or reactions to what’s happening on the floor, we usually have good production in our favor when we step back on the field. “
It’s been a full fourth quarter of garbage, and that’s not something that Phoenix Suns Arena has been used to celebrating for the past decade.
Booker had 32 points, two rebounds, five assists, and zero turnover in 30 minutes. Paul added 17 points, five rebounds, 12 assists and three steals on perfect 8-of-8 shots in 22 minutes.
Paul had a weird clash with former Suns guard Ty Jerome in his final game of the fourth quarter. When he came around a screen, Paul let his head go into Jerome’s shoulder. After the hit, Paul immediately grabbed his right shoulder and came out of the match. He was watched by trainers on the bench and spent a few minutes playing before looking good.
– Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) April 3, 2021
Those are certainly heartbreaking moments in the Suns’ second half of the season and it will be worth keeping an eye on his name in the injury record ahead of Monday’s showdown against the Houston Rockets.
Second-year forward Cam Johnson played just one minute in the first quarter before coming out for a cut over his left eye. Johnson got stitches in the locker room and came back in the second half to score 17 runs. He said it was weird to be in a match live and then watch it in the back, with the trainers telling him what happened on the TV while he had his eyes closed during certain points of getting screwed.
Booker has spoken of the suns that must learn through experience to grow in certain areas. On Wednesday against an exhausted Chicago Bulls team, the score for the first quarter was 39-37 Suns. This time on Friday, the offensive production was back, but this time also the defense.
“I think the most important thing at this point is to get better, getting better to achieve our goals for later,” he said. “We always say we’re not playing against our opponent, we are playing against ourselves and what can we get better at. Even after rising 30 in the first quarter, everyone is passing on the message, ‘Let’s keep getting better and on our stuff continues to work. ”