In his Phoenix Suns debut, Nick Richards posted a dominant double-double and was a game-high plus-22 as a perfect complimentary piece to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in a 125-121 win over the hot Detroit Pistons.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Richards finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Durant added on 36 points (30 in the second half) and Booker tallied 35 (23 in the first half) as the three combined for 92 points with Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic out.
Winners of five of their last six games, the Suns (20-20) get a great tune-up win ahead of their matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Here are the takeaways from Phoenix’s gritty win over Detroit:
– Bradley Beal (left ankle sprain) and Jusuf Nurkic (illness), were listed as out for the game. Beal has missed last game against the Washington Wizards after suffering the ankle injury against the Atlanta Hawks the game before. Nurkic has missed every game this road trip with the flu and didn’t travel with the team. The only player out for the Detroit Pistons is Jaden Ivey with a left fibula fracture.
– Highly coveted center Nick Richards made his long awaited debut for the Suns and had an impactful first stint. Richards posted one point, four rebounds, one assist and was a +3 in six minutes of play in the first quarter.
– It was all Devin Booker and Ryan Dunn to give the Suns a 30-29 first quarter lead. Booker led Phoenix with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 11 minutes and Dunn added another 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go along with two rebounds.
– Despite dishing out seven assists in his first 15 minutes, Cade Cunningham was working for every possession offensively. In that initial span, Cunningham shot 1-for-11 from the field and only scored six points. Suns rookie Ryan Dunn was his primary defender and did his on the All-Star point guard early.
Jan 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) moves the ball up court next to Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
– With Kevin Durant struggling to get it going in the first half (six points on 1-for-9 FG), Devin Booker and Nick Richards stepped up for the Suns to keep them afloat. Booker scored 23 points (7-11 FG) and Richards added 11 points (4-4 FG) and five rebounds to give Phoenix a 61-60 lead going into halftime.
– Pistons center Jalen Duren put together a dominant third quarter, scoring nine points to give the Pistons their biggest lead of the game before committing his fourth foul with 4:09 left in the third quarter and Detroit up 84-81.
– A driving and-1 layup with 4.3 seconds left in the third quarter typified Kevin Durant’s 21-point quarter to make up for his six-point first half. He took over and was the reason Phoenix stayed in the game against a consistent Pistons team. The Suns led the Detroit 98-95 at the end of the third quarter.
–Â Devin Booker scored 30 points for the fifth-straight game with 9:24 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game up 106-106.
– In his first game with the Suns, Nick Richards logged a double-double after snagging a rebound and putting up a layup with 6:06 remaining in the game.
– With 20.3 seconds remaining and the Suns up 121-117, Devin Booker was called for a foul on a Tim Hardaway Jr. 3-point shot. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer challenged the call but the call was deemed unsuccessful. However, Hardaway Jr. missed two of the three free throws to cut the Suns lead to just three.
– Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and newest addition Nick Richards led the Suns to a much-needed victory over a Pistons team that won 10 of its last 13 games. Phoenix must now prepare to play the NBA’s best Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in Cleveland.
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant at unique odds ahead of matchup vs Pistons
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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenosports, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
