Posted: December 9, 2012
The Suns went back and forth with the Magic the entire night before dropping a 98-90 home decision Sunday. Check out some notable tidbits uncovered in the locker room before and after the game.
Road Weary
Coming into Sunday’s contest, the Suns last eight games have been played in eight different cities. In the last 15 days, Phoenix has played a total of seven road games. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies, Kings, Clippers, Hawks and Bobcats have all played seven or fewer road games total this season.
Beasley Off the Bench
After a slow start to the season, Suns small forward Michael Beasley was moved to the bench Saturday against the Clippers. How he did he respond?
Beasley uncorked his second-most productive outing of the season, totaling 21 points, five assists and four rebounds off the bench against the Clippers. More impressively, the 6-10 forward was 7-of-11 from the floor and drilled 4-of-7 from downtown.
His four 3-pointers tied a career high.
Starting to Feel Like Home
While Beasley excelled coming off the bench Saturday, Suns power forward Markieff Morris received a boost by becoming a starter: especially at home.
In his last home game against Dallas, Morris grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and recorded his second career double-double. In fact, in his last two home games before Sunday, Morris set new career highs in scoring (23 points against the Hornets) and rebounding (those 17 against the Mavs).
As a starter over the last 10 games, Morris has averaged 11.2 points a game. Previously, when he was coming off the bench, he was only averaging 7.6 points a night.
Dragic Out
Suffering from the flu, Suns starting point guard Goran Dragic missed Sunday’s game. It was his first DNP of the season. Dragic soldiered through Saturday’s game against the Clippers, but the effects of the illness were obvious in his play.
When Gentry was asked how much it effected him, Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry simply said, “A lot.”
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