MIAMI — The Big 3 and even bigger bench play got the Phoenix Suns back on track in Monday’s 118-105 win at Miami to snap a two-game skid in the second of a road back-to-back.
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal combined for 61 points and the Suns bench accounted for a season-high 48 points with Eric Gordon scoring a team-high 23, hitting 5-of-12 from 3.
Frank Vogel said pregame the Suns (27-20) were upset with their two losses at Indiana and Orlando in which they folded in the fourth quarter.
Used a more colorful word than upset, but Vogel shared the same sentiment.
The Suns responded with one of their better defensive efforts in limiting the slumping Heat (24-23) to 39.3% shooting. Miami has dropped its last seven games and hasn’t won since acquiring Terry Rozier (0-4) in a trade with Charlotte that involved Kyle Lowry.
Jimmy Butler paced Miami with a game-high 26 points.
Here’s what we learned as Suns led by as many as 28 points, but once again had a shaky fourth quarter in which Miami sliced Phoenix’s lead to 10 before Gordon hit a dagger 3 with 1:06 remaining that led to most of the sellout crowd of 19,600 at Kaseya Center heading for the exits.
Sharing is caring, but so is taking care of the ball
The Suns responded to having more turnovers (23) than assists (19) in Sunday’s loss at Orlando to cranking out 30 assists and committing only eight turnovers Monday.
The Suns would’ve had even more assists by making the open 3s they got. Booker, Durant and Beal each had seven assists a combined for a total of two turnovers.
Durant took his seven turnovers against the Magic personally and only had one in 41 minutes Monday. Beal had the other one of the Big 3 after coughing it up three times in the fourth quarter Sunday wearing a mask that left him visually disturbed and frustrated.
Better vision. Better ball protection. Better play from Beal, who is quietly taking on more a of point guard role, especially with the way Booker has been cooking of late.
By the way, Booker didn’t turn the ball over Monday in 40 minutes.
The Magic scored 23 points off those 21 turnovers Sunday. Twenty-four hours later, Miami only managed 11 points off those eight turnovers.
Those are the numbers.
Here’s the deep dive.
The Suns had more and better ball movement against Miami’s man and zone principles, but they got some easy ones in transition in the first half. They scored 11 of their 16 transitions points in the first half.
This team could use more fastbreak points. They are 24th in pace and 20th in fastbreak points.
The Suns have three scorers who are shot makers as Booker finished with 22 points, Durant went for 20 and Beal added 19. All three are capable of 40, 50 or more, but when the Suns play with pace, it leads to transition 3s and it allows guys like Josh Okogie to use his athleticism to make plays.
Ball movement is what can separate the Suns when they make the extra pass with three guys who can score off the dribble or catch-and-shoot, but spacing is everything. The better the spacing, the less Booker, Durant and Beal are playing in a crowd, which tends to lead to turnovers.
And when those three share the ball like they did Monday, that makes it more challenging to not only guard Booker, Durant and Beal, but the team as a whole. The Suns still seem to be finding that fine line between the Big 3 being aggressive to score and aggressive to make a play for someone else.
Sometimes actually running a play instead of giving the ball to one to force the defense to help and adjust can work, too.
Bench rose to occasion
Drew Eubanks brought energy — and 11 points off the bench — in the first quarter.
Okogie was making those outside-the-points plays with steals and rebounds. So those two 3s he hit were like that thick, wavy icing on the wedding cake in scoring 11 points as well.
So what one was a double clutch off the glass that had Gordon laughing when asked about it after the game. Okogie has watched Grayson Allen become the fifth starter, but seems to have worried less about hitting 3s and more about defending and making energy plays.
And then there’s Gordon, who could start, but with Allen missing the second half with an ankle injury, he got into his offensive bag with the drives and 3s.
The Suns are 28th in bench scoring. Granted their Big 3 is averaging essentially 75 points a game, but they could use more out of their reserves.
Can’t see Phoenix’s bench going for 48 every night, but the Suns got what they needed from them and then some on a second of a back-to-back. They showed on the road where the stars tend to carry teams that the second unit guys can deliver, too.
Heat culture not enough right now
How Miami goes about their business with toughness, character and discipline defines them just as much as winning three NBA titles and playing in seven finals.
Right now, this team is very much a work in progress.
Trying to work in Rozier, who is best at going one-on-one. He makes oh-ah plays like one that had Durant reeling and then scored, and he can catch fire from 3 (4-of-6), but he’s not an assist guy (only three dimes).
Rozier was a minus-21 Monday, the worst of any player on the court. The more they can get him on how the Heat play, he could be really special here.
This isn’t the Heat team that could lock it down defensively. They are 13th in defensive rating, but the Heat need to do better when considering they’re 22nd in offensive rating.
Miami has gone from reaching the finals last season to being seventh in the West and 14 games behind the Celtics, the team it beat in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat are a long way from that, but don’t dare count them out.
That wouldn’t be wise.
Injury update: Allen suffers right ankle injury
Allen didn’t play in the second half after spraining his right ankle in Monday’s first half.
He checked out of the game with 3:19 left in the half with three points all on free throws. He only attempted two shots, missing both in 13 minutes.
Vogel said X-rays were negative, and that Allen is day-to-day. Allen has started every game he’s played this season in averaging 13.5 points and leading the NBA in 3-point shooting at 49.8%.
Jusuf Nurkic returned for Monday’s game after sitting out Sunday’s loss at the Magic. He suffered a left thumb sprain on his non-shooting hand in last week’s loss at Pacers.
Bol Bol remains out with right foot sprain has he has missed nine straight games with the injury. Damion Lee (knee) didn’t make the trip as he hasn’t played all season.
Up next: Durant’s return to Brooklyn
This will be Durant’s first game in Brooklyn since the blockbuster trade right before last season’s trade deadline that sent Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson to the Nets.
Brooklyn won in Phoenix this season in the return of Bridges and Johnson to Phoenix.
The Nets (19-27) are 10th in the East as they got Ben Simmons back from back issues for Monday’s game against Utah. His had last played Nov. 6 against Milwaukee.
He’s only played in seven games this season.
More: Kevin Durant explains why doesn’t deserve a tribute video from Brooklyn Nets
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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