Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer meets with the media after the Phoenix Suns (9-6) fell to the Orlando Magic (9-6) 109-99, suffering their fourth-straight loss.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix 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 have now won six straight, even with Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique) missing the last 10 games.
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.
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 Sunday 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.
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.
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.
Phoenix will next play the New York Knicks at home on Wednesday before a five-day break without any games.
Some key quotes from Budenholzer:
- On what makes Franz Wagner so dynamic and effective: “Yeah, he’s just got a little bit of everything. I think as a rookie, I actually, somehow, caught some of his best games as a rookie and so I just continue to be impressed. He had the three -ball going tonight; he hit a tough one, I don’t know if it was at the end of the second quarter, but he just has a little bit of everything. He has a little bit of a pace and is unorthodox when he gets into the paint and is able to finish. He’s got great size, it got him to the free throw line, so he’s just one of the good young players in our league. He is impressive.”
- On getting the ball to Devin Booker more and what the team can do to help space him out: “I think sometimes maybe moving him, getting him off the ball some, but if they put two on him, that’s part of the first question. I think there are some good looks and if they put two on him and he shares it and we move it and you get good looks, I think that we have a lot of faith in our guys. We’re going to make those more often than not, so I think to use them to draw two is good. Then sometimes we got to try and free them up, maybe away from the ball or different ways.”
- On the mentality of the locker room as they weather this storm of injuries and recent matchups: “These guys I think stay together. It’s a good group, they’ve got a good spirit. They’ve got a good way about them, through good times and the hard times. You got to keep doing like coming to work, putting your individual time in, put your team time in and keep your head up. This group will do that. They’re very good. They’re very resilient.”
“These guys stay together. It's a good group, they've got a good spirit. They've got a good way about them, through good times and the hard times.”#Suns coach Mike Budenholzer on the mentality of the locker room weathering the storm of injuries in midst of 4 straight losses pic.twitter.com/EjZmj97t9h
— Burn City Suns ☀️ (@BurnCitySuns) November 19, 2024
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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
