The highest scoring team in the NBA made their way to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday night, and the Brooklyn Nets (4-4) received a lesson in beyond-the-arc shooting. The Phoenix Suns ended the evening shooting 19-42 (45.2%) from downtown, and in doing so moved to 6-3 on the year, downing Kyrie and the Nets with ease.
It was a solid team effort offensively as all five starters, as well as Sixth Man candidate Tyler Johnson, scored 10+ points. The excitement started once the whistle blew, as ball movement led to numerous open shots and Ricky Rubio had 7 assists in the 1st quarter alone.
This might have been their most consistently dominating performance of the year. Brooklyn closed the gap to 2 points in the second, as their bench outscored the Suns bench XX-XX, but that was as close as they would get.
NBA Twitter could not get enough of Devin Booker's performance, with All Star and MVP consideration and praised being thrown his way. And he earned it. Booker was silky smooth all night, whether it be passes or shooting. Devin's confidence this year comes from trust. He knows he doesn't need to everything anymore; a team has been put around him and everyone is learning their role. And they're excelling within those roles. This allows Booker to take on stars such as Kyrie Irving and outshine them. And on Sunday night he did just that. Booker scored an efficient 27 (10-14 from the field, including 4-5 from downtown), and 9 assists.
I enjoyed seeing Cam Johnson knock down some big shots. His release is so pure, his form is so pristine. He deserves to see the ball tickle the twine, and his hard work paid off.
The Suns cruised to a 26 point victory and now turn their attention to their divisional match up on Tuesday against the Lakers.
Solar Flare of the Game
Ricky Rubio - The Spaniard set the tone early, whether it was with his passing or his shooting. He ended the evening with a 22 and 12 stat line.
Solar Synopsis
The hustle was back and it was impressive watching how Phoenix bounced back following Thursday's loss. This team's resiliency is admirable and, with a much more veteran lineup, losing streaks hopefully will be few and far between. Enjoy this win Phoenix! We are 11% of the way though the season, and we're already 32% of the way to last year's win total!