Devin Booker and Kevin Durant had a rallying call for Suns’ fans after tonight’s 105-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they now face an 0-2 first-round series deficit.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Don’t count us out, it’s a series for a reason,” Booker said. “I don’t think any road team (in the NBA) has won so far. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with us, but it’s just the situation that it is.”
Durant added to Booker’s statement.
“They can’t give up on us right now,” Durant said. “S—, we need them more than anything. I know it’s been disappointing the last couple games, even the season for our fans, but we need you more than ever now coming home for Game 3.”
(Video via 12News’ Cam Cox)
Book's message to Suns fans "Don't count us out."
KD on Suns fans "They can't give up on us right now… We need you now more than ever coming back home."@12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/zUJCs0DOpK
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) April 24, 2024
The Indiana Pacers became the first road team to win during this year’s playoffs today, as road teams now have a combined record of 1-12.
The Suns have not come back from an 0-2 deficit since the 1993 playoffs in a first-round series against the Lakers. This was a best-of-5 series, so the Suns won all three of the remaining games. Phoenix ended up going all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics.
Teams up 2-0 in the NBA playoffs are 416-33 all time, meaning they win 92.7% of the time. Two of these 33 series losses have come to the Suns in the last three years: in the 2021 NBA Finals to the Milwaukee Bucks and in the 2022 second round to the Dallas Mavericks.
“We just got to take it a possession at a time,” Durant said when asked about the stat of team’s being down 0-2. “I don’t even try to think like that, we got the next game ahead of us. We got to focus on every possession. We’ll take it a possession at a time.”
(Via AZ Central’s Duane Rankin)
"Just talking to each other, holding each other accountable. We're all trying to fight out there and so far this series, once it has turned to shit, we've kind of separated instead of being together and that's everybody, top to bottom. We got to figure it out." Devin Booker #Suns pic.twitter.com/3e90QgNZPS
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 24, 2024
With a roster built to win a championship, the Suns need a lot of help now starting from the top.
Tonight, the team’s Big 3 finished a combined 18-for-45 (40%) from the floor with 12 of the team’s 19 turnovers, while each playing over 40 minutes. Booker had 20 points (6-of-13 shooting, 1-of-6 from 3), five assists, three rebounds, six fouls, six turnovers and was a -24 in terms of plus/minus. Durant was also a -24, as he had 18 points (6-of-15 shooting, 0-of-2 from 3), six rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. Bradley Beal finished with 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting (2-of-4 from 3), six assists, four rebounds and four turnovers and was a -21.
Game 3 is on Friday in Phoenix, as the Suns will look to respond in front of their home crowd for the first time.
Is the Suns season over after Game 2 loss to Timberwolves? Fans think so
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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
