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It was supposed to be a stern test against one of the East's best.
Instead, Sunday night's home game against Toronto became -- and more importantly, stayed -- a laugher. Phoenix ran away with a 125-109 victory that wasn't even that close as seven players scored in double figures. Eric Bledsoe led the way with 20 points, eight assists and three steals and the Suns rode the momentum of a 43-point second quarter to the finish line.
Plenty of happy thoughts are there for the taking after this one, but here are some of the best:
5. Archie Goodwin destroyed the dinosaurs
Maybe it was pent-up energy being released in real game action. Perhaps he was the bull and the Raptors' road-red uniforms were an enraging motivation. All we know is there is little left of Jonas Valanciunas after this poster dunk by the second-year guard.
4. Defense fed the offense
The Suns should have been arrested for burglary after the 15 steals they came up with on Sunday night. The Raptor turnovers they caused led to 30 Phoenix points. Many of those also counted under their 34 fast break points, nearly double their season average.
Phoenix's fast-paced game becomes a much more natural affair when defense is fueling it. The fact that this happened against a Raptors team that commits the second-fewest turnovers in the league makes it that much more impressive.
3. Half-court offense deserves credit, too
Len Slam
Phoenix's 34 fast break points means another 91 came on free throws or in half-court sets. The Suns moved the ball generously, finding the open big man underneath or the shooter left alone one more pass over.
Ten different Suns logged assists on Sunday, and a whopping nine of them (out of 26 total) came in the decisive second-quarter run.
2. Three point guards all got it done
Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, and Isaiah Thomas all scored at least 18 points apiece in the win, a true indicator of the Suns' thorough start-to-finish dominance. Bledsoe penetrated and finished or passed. Dragic was his usual, deadly-efficient self (8-for-11 FG). Isaiah Thomas erupted for a trio of three-pointers in the first half.
The #Suns legit point guard depth has started manifesting itself as a unified strength over the last few weeks. Playing together in crunch time has surely helped, but they've also grown increasingly comfortable taking turns at the wheel.
1. Phoenix never let up
Highlights: #SunsVsRaptors
There were no lead changes after the first quarter. The Suns used their second-quarter surge as a knockout punch and then made sure their opponent never got up again.
Phoenix has longed to show the killer instinct they know is necessary to become a surefire playoff team. Sunday night, against the second-best team from the East, they showed it.
"We started the game with a vengeance and we finished with it," Bledsoe said. "You couldn't ask for a better game."