Gatorade Postgame Report: Suns Power Past Mavs
The next time the Suns take the court at Talking Stick Resort Arena, it’ll be for the start of the 2016-17 regular season.
But before Phoenix tips off a new campaign, the team got in one last home tune-up on Friday night against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
Led by an all-around effort from rookie Marquese Chriss, a short-handed Suns squad topped the visiting Mavericks, 112-107, to earn its third win of the preseason.
“Our team is a blank canvas. We have a lot of young guys who are rapidly evolving into grown players at such a young age,” Head Coach Earl Watson said. “We’re not like Utah or Dallas, where what you see is what you get. We’re taking steps every game.
“We just want to be one percent better than yesterday, so we continue to push, stay together and dream big so we have success that sustains over time.”
If you missed any of the action, here are four notes of what went down Friday.
1. The Suns were without Devin Booker (ankle), Alex Len (back), Tyson Chandler (rest) and John Jenkins (abdominal).
Brandon Knight was initially questionable with knee tendinitis, but the guard suited up and scored 11 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
T.J. Warren, Jared Dudley, Eric Bledsoe and Chriss joined Knight in the Suns’ makeshift starting lineup.
“It’s big,” Bledsoe said of winning despite not having a full roster. “Everybody is getting comfortable. It’s going to be like that. Last year we had a lot of injuries, but we just have to find a way. We did that tonight.”
2. Chriss took full advantage of the opportunity on Friday night, playing a game-high 33 minutes and scoring a game-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“Marquese Chriss is just a multi-dimensional player,” Watson said. “He has the power and finesse. You can’t teach that.”
Chriss also tacked on six rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals and an assist. The rookie continues to look more and more comfortable on the court with every game.
He even got into a bit of a scrap with veteran center Andrew Bogut, with the players getting tangled on a rebound and Chriss muscling his opponent to the floor to get away. Bogut went after the rookie with a full head of steam, but Chriss held his ground until the referees separated the two.
“I wasn’t intimidated or anything,” Chriss said. “I wasn’t going to back down. I am who I am. I just try to play aggressive.
“I’m just going to keep playing my game and stay true to who I am. I’m super competitive. If you get angry with it, you get angry with it, but I’m going to stay who I am.”
Added Bledsoe: “I love it. That’s the way I play. Marquese showed he isn’t scared. Once a veteran player knows he has fear in you as a young player, that follows you. Marquese set the tone early.”
3. Without Booker in the lineup, Bledsoe had to pick up the slack offensively.
The point guard not only tied Chriss with 17 points for himself, he also created for others with a game-high seven assists.
“Just trying to get a rhythm,” Bledsoe said. “That’s the biggest thing. We’re going to need me and everybody to play at the level we need to win… It was a great team victory.”
4. As a team, the Suns had seven players in double figures: Chriss, Bledsoe, Warren, Dudley, Knight, Tyler Ulis and Dragan Bender.
The latter two showed significant improvement to end up with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
“Our young guys are taking amazing steps,” Watson said.
The Suns have a week off before they close out the preseason next Friday against the Lakers in Southern California.