The Phoenix Suns were looking to run away with a road game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Unfortunately, Chicago had other plans going into halftime.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were met with the opposing duo in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. As such, a battle ensued that hung in the balance in the fourth quarter.
DeRozan in particular didn’t make the matchup easy for the Suns, putting up 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
The Suns were able to win their seventh consecutive game against the Bulls however, beating Chicago 125-104.
Familiar Places for Booker
Booker is making sure to leave his mark on games despite sharing the court with Durant now. It appeared that Booker was well on his way to another 30-point performance after the first half.
That notion was cemented once again, with Booker turning in 35 points, shooting 12-of-24 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range.
Booker also kept up his recent elevation as a playmaker also, dishing out six assists during the contest.
Controlling the Boards
The Suns made the most out of second-chance points on Friday, despite their leading rebounder in Deandre Ayton coming up short in that department.
Phoenix finished the road outing with 41 rebounds compared to Chicago’s 34. Moreover, they made most of their impact on the offensive rebounds, grabbing 13 in total. Jock Landale found his value for the night in that area, grabbing four.
Having Ayton not be as effective while still making the most out of their rebounding opportunities is certainly a bright spot for Phoenix.
Durant: A Man of Many Skills
There was no 30 or 40-point fireworks from Durant as many predicted against the Bulls. Durant has a history of giving Chicago a rough time in his recent matchups.
Still, the future Hall of Famer proved once more why his value far exceeds that of just scoring. He finished the grueling contest with 20 points on a decent 7-of-10 shooting.
The better part of Durant’s performance came in rebounds, in which he had nine, and assists in which he finished with six. Being able to impact the game from multiple facets is something the Suns deeply desired at a higher level, and they’ve found that in one player.
Phoenix now improves to 2-1 on their four-game road trip. Up next for the Suns will be the rivalry above all else in the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
