For the first time since November 26th, the Phoenix Suns officially have a winning streak as another strong shooting night propelled them to a 133-119 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Right out of the gate, the Suns found similar success from three as they did against the Rockets on Wednesday. Whether it be Devin Booker, Eric Gordon, or Grayson Allen, the Suns shot 60% from beyond the arc. Booker in particular did not miss a three until the 3rd quarter. He started the game 5-5.
After a brief moment in the 1st quarter, the Suns did not trail for a single second for the rest of the night. As a team, they shot at a ridiculous 62.5 rate from the field and missed just one free throw out of 22 attempts.
While Kevin Durant did not shoot the ball as often as fans may be accustomed to, when he did shoot, it went in. Along with his 11 assists, Durant went 3-3 from deep and ended with 21 points on just 11 shots.
Jusuf Nurkic also had an excellent shooting night. With the Hornets missing Gordon Hayward due to injury, Nurkic had a field day in the paint. Missing only two shots out of 11 attempts, Nurkic scored 24 points to go with his 15 rebounds grabbed.
Keeping the Hornets in the game was Terry Rozier with a season high 42 points. Rozier shot 8-11 from three. This performance led an unusual deep three barrage from a Hornets team that is bottom 10 in the league from three. Charlotte went 23-46 from beyond the arc.
With this win, the Suns are back above the .500 mark this season. They have now displayed in back-to-back nights their ability to shoot the basketball at above average consistency. With the dual threat of Jusuf Nurkic at the basket, combined with a handful of lethal deep threats, the Suns are in great shape if they can continue to play the way they have over the past couple of games.
Of course, it should be mentioned that this strong shooting night came against the Hornets who are riding a now ten-game losing streak and were without two key pieces. However, considering how inconsistent Phoenix has shot the ball this season, tonight was a positive building block that can bring confidence and momentum heading into the new year.
Key performances:
Kevin Durant: 21 points, 11 assists
Jusuf Nurkic: 24 points, 15 rebounds
Devin Booker: 35 points, 7 assists
Eric Gordon: 21 points, 7 made threes
Terry Rozier: 42 points, 8 assists
Brandon Miller: 20 points, 6 made threes
