The Phoenix Suns’ losing streak grew to four games with a 109-99 loss at the hands of the Orlando Magic on the second night of a back-to-back Monday night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix (9-6) was without both Kevin Durant (left calf strain) and Bradley Beal (left calf strain) for the fourth-consecutive game and also down Jusuf Nurkić (left ankle sprain).
The Magic (9-6) have now won six straight, even with Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique) missing the last 10 games.
Here are some initial takeaways from the loss for Phoenix:
– The Magic’s elite halfcourt defense was just too much for the Suns without Beal and Durant. Phoenix shot 35-for-83 (42.2%) from the field, 12-for-41 (29.3%) from 3, 17-for-25 (68%) from the free throw line and had 13 turnovers on the night.
– Phoenix showed a lot of fight in the fourth quarter, winning the final frame 31-25 and shooting 60% from the floor, keeping itself in it despite the deficit.
– Even without Nurkić, the Suns decided to start two bigs in Oso Ighodaro and Mason Plumlee for the second-straight game. Ighodaro impressed once again in his first career start, following up a career-high 11 points against Minnesota yesterday with another career high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
– Tyus Jones was the Suns’ best offensive player most of the night, but did cool down late in the game. The point guard started off hot with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first quarter and ended with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting and eight assists to 0 turnovers.
– Grayson Allen looked off at the free-throw line, converting 3-for-7 of his attempts. Allen still had some timely shots and recorded 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting for the game.
– As expected, the Magic swarmed Devin Booker all night, and the Suns star did not get much help from his teammates. After a season-high 44 points against Minnesota, Booker finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting, five assists, two turnovers and five fouls in 38 minutes.
– Royce O’Neale continues to struggle without Durant. After starting off the season on fire, O’Neale is now 15-for-59 (25.4%) overall and 8-for-34 (23.5%) from 3 in the six games without Durant after a 2-point, 1-for-8 shooting performance tonight.
– Even with Phoenix’s big lineup, Franz Wagner torched the Suns with 32 points (12-of-24 FG), eight assists and five rebounds in 39 minutes.
– Overall, the Suns simply need Durant and Beal back healthy in order to beat teams with elite defenses.
Phoenix will next play the New York Knicks at home on Wednesday before a six-day break without any games.
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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
