On New Year’s Day inside the Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns picked up their fourth consecutive win in the most unconventional fashion imaginable.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Not only were they without Kevin Durant, but Devin Booker had one of his worst shooting nights of the season, making just four shots on 16 attempts for 10 points.
Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic, who averages 10.5 rebounds per game, grabbed just 7 boards. Nevertheless, the Suns overcame the absence of their two primary scorers and also won the rebound battle, despite Nurkic finishing below his season average.
Not to mention, this uncanny win came just two days after Phoenix’s bench scored a season low six points.
So how did they manage to pull it off?
Well, in part, Bol Bol.
Trailing by 9 in the 2nd quarter, Frank Vogel elected to sub Bol into the game. It was just the second time that Bol has seen minutes outside of the 4th quarte this season.
Yet, his impact was clear the minute he stepped on the court. Courtesy of the sellout crowd at the Footprint Center, fans erupted when they saw Bol taking off his warmup sweats.
The energy shifted, and the Suns immediately went on a 14-0 run to grab the lead. From there, they took control of the game and never looked back.
Bol ended with 11 points and 9 rebounds in the 20 minutes of action that he saw. Heading into tonight, Bol had just six points and four rebounds on the season.
After the win, Jusuf Nurkic, the Suns starting center, gave his two senses on what the breakout meant: “First, I’m just happy for him to have plenty. They’ve been working hard, and in this league, you never know when your chance is going to come, and you’ve just got to be ready. Obviously, we would’ve liked for him to have less fouls but just happy for him to have a chance to play and show that he can play.”
Reflecting on Bol’s readiness for the game, Nurkic added, “Just work. Do exactly what coaches, staff and the team asking from him to stay ready and in game shape. Sometimes it’s hard to not play for that long. I think it’s normal to have some foul trouble, but coach gave him a chance to play with two fouls. I think that’s encouraging and obviously he knows he was going to play tonight so he’s going to play different. But it felt like a magnet out there; the crowd loves him so much and wherever we go, it doesn’t matter whether if hits home or away, we’re just happy to see him out there too.”
