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Don’t tell the Suns they can’t make the playoffs. Saturday, they played like a team hell-bent on doing so.
Phoenix rode a big night from Eric Bledsoe (34 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, one block) and a critical defensive performance by P.J. Tucker to a 117-102 win at Houston. The victory pulled the Suns to within 2.5 games of idle Oklahoma City – who is without Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant indefinitely – for the eighth and final playoff spot out West.
The Suns will have less than 24 hours to return home and prepare for the Dallas Mavericks, who visit on Sunday night. Until then, they can be encouraged by the following
5. Their three-point shot is back
The last time Phoenix shot over 50 percent from downtown: Feb. 6. It’s been hard going since, especially after the trade deadline as a new roster tries to find its own groove and spacing.
That all came together at Houston, where the Suns hit a conservative and efficient 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. Eric Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Marcus Morris hit at least two threes apiece, an offensive boost the Suns sorely missed.
4. Wright stepped up again
Alex Len was back, but missing another handful of games with a sprained ankle left him with a little too much rust to make his usual impact.
Enter Brandan Wright, who has more than held down the fort in Len’s absence. His eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks won’t garner headlines, but they did help secure a win Phoenix desperately needed.
3. Bledsoe was the man
From the opening tip, it was apparent that Eric Bledsoe wanted this win. He didn’t force that vibe, but he did dominate with it. The Suns floor general hit jumpers, attacked the rim and forced turnovers while thoroughly dominating the Rockets’ defensive pest, Patrick Beverley.
Phoenix’s late-season push for the postseason will go only as far as Bledsoe takes them. On the road against the third-best team in the West, he proved there could be much more left instore.
2. Tucker was a bigger factor than Harden
On Saturday, P.J. Tucker was made a greater impact on both ends of the floor than James Harden. All of it was his “fault”. Tucker finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting while holding Harden, the second-leading scorer in the league, to 16 points on 5-of-19 from the floor.
One sequence captured Tucker’s night in a nutshell: after a miss under the rim, Tucker wrestled away the offensive rebound from three Houston players and converted the putback. Simply put, he wanted it – the rebound and the win – more than anyone else on the floor
1. Phoenix won in impressive fashion
At one point in the first half, the Suns trailed by double-digits. Their subsequent comeback wasn’t frenetic or lucky. It wasn’t a matter of finding an irrationally hot hand, be it individual or collective.
They simply outplayed Houston the rest of the way. After the first quarter, the Suns outscored the Rockets 84-65. If Thursday’s 74-72 slugfest over New Orleans was Phoenix emerging from a pile of rubble, Saturday showed they’ve grown stronger and are gaining momentum as a result.