The Phoenix Suns moved to below .500 last night with a 128-114 Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks in which Devin Booker was held to only 14 shots.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Booker still ended the night with 20 points and 10 assists, but Phoenix has now lost nine of its last 12 and is struggling to find answers for this poor stretch.
“High,” Booker said of his frustration level right now. “Every loss is tough.”
Pretty much every game during this slump, the Suns show some good spurts but are never able to put a full 48-minute game together.
Against the Mavericks, the Suns came back from down 15 to take the lead in the third quarter, coming out of halftime scorching hot, but eventually faltering in the final period.
“Just poor rotations, poor gameplan discipline,” Booker said of the team’s fourth quarter collapse. “When we do what we are supposed to do out there, it works. Then as the game goes on, we just lose focus.”
For the first time during this stretch of games, the Mavericks pretty much shut down Booker and Kevin Durant in terms of scoring and forced a lot of turnovers.
The two stars combined for 10-of-25 shooting from the floor and nine turnovers, while Durant had his franchise-record 23-game streak of scoring 25+ points snapped. He finished with only 16 in the game.
“I’d say scheme (led to low field goal attempts),” Booker said. “That’s what it comes down to. That’s what it came down to in the playoffs last year. Teams are gonna make us throw it to those guys, and I’m gonna keep doing it. And make sure the right guys are in the right spot and knock down the shots.”
Booker and Durant’s low numbers allowed two role players to really step up. Grayson Allen finished with a team and his season-high 32 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds. Chimezie Metu had a monster game off the bench, posting 23 points and 19 rebounds.
“Shot the sh*t out of it,” Booker said of Allen’s huge night.
Grayson was on FIRE from beyond the arc last night 🔥
His 8 three-pointers…
☄️ tied his career high
☄️ tied the NBA record on Christmas Day
☄️ set the Suns record on Christmas Day pic.twitter.com/r8oZVrCC3l— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 26, 2023
Luka Doncic had yet another great performance against the Suns, as star players have become accustomed to this season. Doncic finished the night with 50 points and 14 assists.
Booker spoke on the team’s defensive effort, or lack thereof.
“It takes five people,” Booker said. “One slip up will leave an open shooter. That is all it takes in the NBA. Five people have to be on a string and the communication has to be high.”
In terms of if this frustration will continue to evoke bad play, Booker had a simple answer.
“No,” Booker said. “We just have to get it together, and that’s on me, that’s on coach, that’s on KD, Eric, all the leaders that we have in here to make sure that we’re more prepared when we come play.”
Video Recap: Mavericks Spoil Suns’ Christmas with 128-114 Defeat
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
