Suns crushed by lowly Pelicans, 124-116, reach all-time low

PHOENIX — It just might not get any worse than this for the Phoenix Suns after a Zion Williamson triple-double leads the lowly New Orleans Pelicans past Phoenix 124-116.

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Devin Booker’s 36 points, seven rebounds and nine assists on on 13-for-29 shooting wasn’t enough to outlast the Pelicans who came in the game with 15 wins on the season. Kevin Durant followed Booker with 28 points on 13-for-23 shooting. Nick Richards was a game-high plus-15 with 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Trey Murphy started off the game hot, finishing with 18 points, but it was Williamson who took over late in the game to finish with a 27-point, 10-rebounds, 11-assist triple-double.

Phoenix (27-32) doesn’t have much time to rest as they take on this same Pelicans team on Friday for the second night of a back-to-back.

Durant, Suns assume control in 3rd quarter

Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter to give Phoenix the upper hand ahead of the final period, 91-88.

Devin Booker backed his 36-year-old teammate with 25 points and seven assists to that point in the game. Bol Bol continued his stretch of impressive games with 15 points in the first three quarters. Tyus Jones continued to be aggressive and posted 12 points and 11 assists. Nick Richards was a game-high plus-19 while on the floor, scoring eight points and snagging 12 boards.

New Orleans had five players score in double figures, led by Trey Murphy III with 18 and Zion Williamson with 15 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Booker, Bol boost Suns over hot Pelicans in 2nd quarter

New Orleans opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to get a 15-point lead, but Bol Bol’s momentous nine points in the quarter along with Booker’s eight lifted the Suns over the Pelicans, 62-61, ahead of halftime.

Booker led all scorers with 17 points and six assists on 7-for-14 shooting. Tyus Jones took advantage of being re-inserted in to the starting lineup with an aggressive 12 first-half points and seven assists to go with them. Bol had 12 points and was the third of four Suns in double figures, Kevin Durant followed with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Trey Murphy III cooled off in the second quarter but still led the Pelicans with 14 points. Zion Williamson assumed control of New Orleans ahead of halftime, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

Suns, Pelicans erupt early in 1st quarter

Trey Murphy III started hot out the gates, draining four threes as a part of a 14-point barrage in the first quarter to lift the Pelicans over the Suns, 35-30.

Phoenix started off hot as well, Devin Booker scored their first seven points and finished the first period with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Tyus Jones and Kevin Durant each had six points behind Booker as Phoenix hit seven 3-pointers in 13 attempts in the opening quarter.

Behind Murphy’s 14 points (5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from deep), Zion Williamson scored four points and dished out five assists in just over nine minutes.

Injury report

Bradley Beal was listed questionable and later out with left calf tightness. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer noted that it wasn’t necessarily an injury to the calf itself, but just wear and tear from their 151-148 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Cody Martin (sports hernia) and Monte Morris (low back spasms) were also out.

For New Orleans, Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture), Kelly Olynyk (rest), Herb Jones (torn rotator cuff), Bruce Brown (return to competition reconditioning) and Brandon Boston (left ankle sprain) were all out.

Suns report suggests Durant’s tenure is nearing an end

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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenoNBA, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social