Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam tries to control the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 in Phoenix. (AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin)
The Phoenix Suns continue to find a winning formula while still attacking their starting lineup. Wednesday in a 123-115 win over the Toronto Raptors, it was a high shot + enough defense.
The Suns scored 21 tries, one off the franchise record. That included a stretch in the second half where they started an absurd 12-of-15 series.
Jae Crowder (21 points) hit six and Cam Johnson (16 points) four. Phoenix had 30 assistants and scored only 12 times. Cam Payne recorded a career high of ten assistants (with one turnover) in just 16 minutes.
“We just felt that if we could touch the paint, we could get open shots,” head coach Monty Williams said.
Payne was the perfect player to do so as he still proves to be a legitimate rugby player.
“He has another gear. “He has a cross in his game and he is a willing passer-by,” Williams said. ‘The thing about Cam’s passes is that they are timely and targeted. You rarely see him pass the ball high or low. I thought his passes were on point tonight. His ability to get to the paint really helps us in such situations. ”
The defense of The Suns (6-2) reached its progress until the second half and Toronto (1-6)’s attack continued throughout the course of the game. While Phoenix’s offense was awkward, there were enough deep ball conversions in the first half to displace them and in the first half of a game, getting up by four felt like they had to stay behind. The Raptors had 28 quick break points and averaged their season average. of 16 at rest.
Phoenix locked up defensively enough the last 24 minutes to secure a win.
“They only had 17 assistants, so they missed the dribble and shots,” Williams said. “We were not bad defensively … you’re talking about a desperate team that won a championship. I thought we did enough to win the game. There were pieces where we looked very good, and then we gave them back. ‘
That barrage for the Suns of 12 three-pointers in just over 16 minutes to start the second half finally led by 15 points in the early fourth quarter.
However, the Suns’ attack found another groove, without passing for 4:51 playing time and allowing the Raptors to finish within six with 2:11 runs.
Mikal Bridges was wrong to stop the run and Kyle Lowry’s technical foul for Toronto gave him a nine-point lead. Even after a strong effort by the Raptors with pressure on the entire court to make things interesting, they simply did not have enough time to complete a return, and the Suns scored the victory.
The Raptors entered the game in a funk and their star player Pascal Siakam was the most out of action. His season high through six games was 22 points, a total he reached halfway through the third quarter. Siakam’s combination of power, footwork and agility as a cutter is one of the best on the planet.
He had it going on Wednesday, to the point where Williams put center Deandre Ayton on him in the second half. Bridges and even Crowder, a very strong guy, are overrun by Siakam. Ayton did his best and played a strong defensive game in general, but even with his ball skill he could not stop the All-Star wing who scored a game-high 32. With Siakam’s dominant play giving a nod, the Suns limited him enough in the final quarter to play a role in a Suns victory.
“He’s an All-Star and he’s won a title,” Williams said. “The good players have the ability to reach their places, even if you do not know what they are going to do, but I thought in the second half it was a much more difficult situation for him.”
“I thought our aggression was to just draw the line and say, ‘If you’re going to score, you have to score over the length and run through us. “I thought it was much better,” Williams added.
A lot of it was Ayton. He had 16 rebounds in 31 minutes, plus 11 points.
The Suns scored 42 points, with Johnson’s 16 and Dario Saric’s 15 for most of them. Booker finishes with six assistants to go with his 24 points, while Chris Paul gives up eight assists and 12 points.
The players will admit that what has been mentioned above, that they generally still find themselves as a team. The fact that the Suns can be 6-2 should still be aware of this and inspire confidence that they will improve is pretty remarkable.
“We were just trying to hope for victories … it’s a very strange season,” Paul said. ‘Guys did not get the chance to play a pickup before the season, but there were not many practices, and the matches look a bit good at the moment, as teams try to figure it out and play at the same time, but we just want win. We just want to accumulate victories. ”