Down the stretch, the Phoenix Suns were able to go on a 9-4 and pull off a 112-107 win over the Orlando Magic despite being outplayed in one key area.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix were up 37-24 after the first quarter against one of the better up and coming teams in the NBA.
The Magic stormed back by outscoring the Suns 63-52 in the second and third quarter combined.
Then, Orlando eventually tied the ballgame 87-87 by rising star Paolo Banchero driving into the paint for a layup.
After Banchero scored, Bradley Beal hit a midrange buzz beater to reclaim the lead for the Suns, 89-87.
Gary Harris would swish a three-pointer with 9:25 remaining in the game for Orlando to be in front 96-95.
However, the Suns were able to capitalize off rebounds, grabbing the lead once again and keeping it on the road to the victory.
What was working well for the Magic was that they heavily secured second chance points, more than doubling the Suns 22-9.
Additionally, Orlando outrebounded Phoenix 46-34, a sticking point to Suns head coach Frank Vogel.
When asked about what was being said amongst the group when playing Orlando, Vogel stated that there was a general understanding throughout the team of what they needed to do to create offense and be successful.
“We just knew we had to continue to rebound the basketball,” Vogel said. “Their second chance points in the first half were hurting us, both by giving up points and stalling out our pace. So we knew that we needed to rebound the basketball and got out and played off of some misses, then offense would become easier.”
Our @AlecCipollini asked Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel about whether there was any talk on the bench when tied 87-87 and down 96-95 to the Orlando Magic. Here is Vogel's response. #ComingInHot #NBA @Suns pic.twitter.com/sDZFu2Nf1h
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) January 1, 2024
Next up on the Suns schedule, the calendar flips to 2024 as they will complete the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow night when they clash with Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center.
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Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
