Kelly Oubre Jr. was coming off a struggling performance against the Los Angeles Lakers in the previous game, but he and the rest of the Phoenix Suns bounced back at full force on Thursday in a dominant victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The man known as Tsunami Papi began making waves early and often. Following a strong display of effort from Oubre on defense during the Hawks’ first possession, the Suns forced the miss and the fast break was on. Ricky Rubio grabbed the board and quickly pushed the ball up the court to Oubre as he split through defenders for the first score of the game.
The Hawks battled back in the first quarter, but eight points from Devin Booker (including two threes in the final minutes) held the game tight as the Suns trailed 33-31 after one. But Booker was just getting started.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, the Suns found themselves down by two as Booker caught fire. The young star put on an offensive showcase and did so in every way possible. He drained a midrange jumper, drove for the reverse layup and converted at the free throw line as he scored nine of the Suns final 11 points of the half and put them up by six entering the break.
The Suns never trailed again for the remainder of the game.
Oubre already had 12 points at halftime, but picked up where Booker left off scoring from all phases of the game. From a smooth layup to a ferocious crowd-pleasing slam, Oubre assisted in pushing the Suns lead to double-digits and begin to close-out the game. He topped-off his hot quarter by draining a fast-break buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third with the Suns up by 14.
The Hawks battled through the fourth, but the Suns never let their lead fall to below double-digits. Oubre scored another seven points in the fourth to notch a season-high 30 points and guide the Suns to a 128-112 victory.
The Suns improve to 7-4 on the season for their best start through 11 games since going 9-2 in 2009-10.
TOP PERFORMERS
Oubre: Season-high 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Booker: 27 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Šarić: Season-high 23 points, 9-12 FG, 6 rebounds, 1 block
Kaminsky: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Cam Johnson: 15 points, 4 rebounds
Rubio: 6 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds
KEY STATS
The Suns made 15-of-39 three-pointers tonight after making 19 and 16, respectively, in their previous two games. This means the Suns have made 15+ three-pointers in three consecutive games—this marks the first time in Suns history that the team has made 15+ three-pointers in three straight games.
The Suns, who entered tonight 1st in the NBA in assists per game, had 32 for their sixth game with 30+ assists this season. The Suns had 37 on Sunday and 32 on Tuesday—this is their first time with 30+ assists in at least three straight games since doing so in three straight from Nov. 8-11, 2009.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
COACH MONTY WILLIAMS ON OUBRE’S GAME: “I think one of the first possessions of the night where he’s in the paint to take away the dive, he closes out to a three-point shooter to contest, he goes by him and then he comes backs, and he kind of shadow-blocked it. Then he takes off and scores. That sums up Kelly for us tonight. His energy, attacking the basket, he didn’t force anything tonight. That’s what we need from him. 30 points is probably something we won’t get a lot, but I think he can give us production on a night-in, night-out basis. It was just good to see him with that kind of efficient night.”
COACH WILLIAMS ON ŠARIĆ: “I just think Dario is a guy that I need to incorporate more. He makes the right plays, he can shoot the ball, he’s efficient. We put him in pick-n-rolls sometimes just because I know he’s going to make the right play. So I have to figure out a way to let him touch the ball, get Devin a touch, Ricky’s got the ball, Kelly is over here, I got a politician over here, and I got a mom over here. I’m trying to please everybody, but that’s why I like the auto because the ball just moves around and a lot of guys get to touch the ball.”
COACH WILLIAMS ON CAM JOHNSON: “I just think guys who have been in school for more than a year, they go through all that stuff, and they come back to school and do it again, they come back to school and do it again. They’re used to two and a half hour practices where you drill that stuff over and over. He’s been in really good programs. It took him a minute to figure that part out, but it’s something that we talk to the guys about in film, trying to take that charge on the backside. I think we took about five tonight. It’s something that helps our defense, especially when teams are trying to put you into single side on the weak side, that’s how they get these lobs, so you try to take away the dive. Sometimes you just got to step up and take a charge.”
BOOKER ON BALL MOVEMENT: “Credit to coach Monty, credit our coaching staff, credit every player in here to buy in – to play together and share the ball. It looks good when we are doing it. I think when we get away from that, that is when we struggle offensively. But today, you just have to regroup and remember what works for us.”
OUBRE ON BOUNCING BACK: “It feels good. At the end of the day, I try not to get too high or too low. I could’ve been super low and not done this today. Just trying to stay leveled is my main thing – being like water.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The Suns will look to build off this game as they host the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Be sure to catch the action on Fox Sports Arizona.