The Phoenix Suns continued their season on the virtual hardwood on Monday as they tipped-off against the Houston Rockets. They once again received an assist from the esports community as Curtis “Bud Lane” returned to take control of the sticks for the Suns with Robert Flores representing the Rockets.
After tightly-contested losses in his first two performances, Bud Lane wanted to prove early that he had what it took to run with the Suns, doing so against one of the top-ranked overall teams in the game. Bud Lane and the Suns went up by double-digits early in this one, but Flores and the Rockets battled back to bring it within just one at halftime.
At the beginning of the game, Bud Lane said, “Get Devin Booker going. That’s the game plan.”
That strategy came to fruition in the second half as he started to feed the young All-Star early and often and his lead began to grow. After facing their only deficit in the third, the Suns overcame and entered the fourth with a nine-point advantage, but would need to close out strong to hold the Rockets off.
Closing out strong put it lightly.
Bud Lane, Booker and the rest of the Suns dominated throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 24-12 in the final period. The Rockets remained in striking distance, trailing 58-51 with 7:54 left before the Suns broke the game open with a 20-4 run to take a 78-55 lead with 2:53 remaining. Booker caught fire, scoring 16 of the Suns’ final 18 points over this 20-4 stretch. Booker totaled 16 fourth-quarter points; in NBA play this season, he has nine quarters scoring 16-plus points, tied for sixth-most in the league.
The Suns handled business in H-Town as they ultimately defeated the Rockets 85-61.
Big road wins against playoff teams are not limited to the 2K court for the Suns this season. On the actual hardwood, the Suns have beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City by 20 points (131-111) on Feb. 24 and the Mavericks in Dallas by 29 points (133-104) on Jan. 28. This is the first season in Suns team history they have record multiple road wins of 20-plus points against teams at least 10 games above .500.
The winner of the NBA 2K Players Tournament, Booker proved he’s just as good on the court, with the sticks in his hands or as his virtual self. Booker scored a team-high 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting in addition to five assists. In NBA games this season, Booker has 20 games with at least 25 points and five assists on 50% shooting—only LeBron James has more.
The biggest difference in the game came on the glass. The Suns outrebounded the small-ball Rockets 36-24, including 17-7 on offensive boards, with much of that coming from the Big Fella. Deandre Ayton finished the game with 19 rebounds to go along with his 14 points and 2 blocks. In NBA games this season, Ayton has three games with 19-plus rebounds, tied for sixth-most in the league despite the fact he has been limited to 30 games.
The Suns shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line—in actual NBA games played this season, the Suns lead the league by shooting 82.6%, the best free throw percentage in franchise history.
The Suns will look to close-out their season on the virtual hardwood on Wednesday. The team is gearing up to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Twitch in what was originally scheduled as their final game of the regular season. Stay tuned on Suns social for more information on their upcoming matchup.
STATS
Booker: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Ayton: 14 points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Rubio: 9 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 block
Kaminsky: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Bridges: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Carter: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Oubre: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Šarić: 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Jerome: 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound
Baynes: 2 points, 4 rebounds
Diallo: 2 points, 1 rebound
Johnson: 2 rebounds, 2 assists