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When I asked my friend how the game turned so quickly from a 19-point deficit in the middle of the second quarter to a 6-point lead in the middle of the third, he said, "The Kings came back."
Yes, Suns fans. The Kings came back retake the deficit early in the third and never looked back. The Suns grabbed their SIXTH home rally to win from a double-digit deficit this season vs. five losses from double-digit deficits and only two clean wins.
Give credit to:
- Marcin Gortat, who fought amongst the trees for 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks
- Luis Scola who set a career high in assists (10)
- Shannon Brown who made 6 straight shots and scored 14 in the third when the Suns took control
- Jared Dudley who scored 22 points, including a few dagger threes to give the Suns breathing room
The Kings were without Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton and, basically, DeMarcus Cousins. The first two were out with injury and personal reasons while Cousins was on the court but never showed up. He only played a few first-half minutes before collecting his third foul, then only 1:10 of the third before collecting his fourth.
The Suns, meanwhile, forgot what time the game started and only realized halfway through the second quarter that this scrimmage actually COUNTS in the standings.
Finally, behind the efforts of Jared Dudley they woke up and started to play NBA basketball. The Suns went on a 26-6 run across two quarters to retake the lead for good. The Kings never led again.
Enjoy the Suns third win in a row for the first time this season. They held the Kings to 41% shooting and 90 points - yet another quality result on the defensive side of the ball.
Yet for those who actually watched the game, the Suns defensive effort often had more to do with the Kings ineptitude than the Suns prowess. To be fair though, the Suns did play strong defense in spurts and did end up with the win thanks in large part to holding the Kings to just 90 points.
More analysis in the morning, with quotes, notes and videos.
Tell then, enjoy the win!
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