The Suns controlled the game. Until they didn’t.
Last night, the Phoenix Suns took a punch straight to the gut. Julius Randle’s buzzer-beating three-pointer — push-off or not — sealed a 120-117 win for the Minnesota Timberwolves. For Phoenix, a win would have capped off a challenging week and made a 2-2 road trip without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal feel like an achievement. But coming home 1-3 after a last-second loss? That’s a ticket on the gut-punch express.
“It’s frustrating, especially when you feel like you played well enough to win,” Tyus Jones said after the loss.
The Suns led for all but 1:09 of the game, which only adds to the sting of that last-second punch. Phoenix tried new strategies and made adjustments — like starting Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee — but it just wasn’t enough in the end.
Still, there is a silver lining. Against a fully healthy Timberwolves team, missing over $100 million worth of talent in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and on the road, it took a buzzer-beater for the Suns to fall.
Cling to the silver lining.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings:
Well, it’s official: Hero Mariah Carey has claimed the Bright Side Baller award with 56% of the vote. Why? Because while the Suns were busy Against All Odds shooting themselves out of the game against the Thunder, she took over Friday night at the Footprint Center. With a performance that made fans feel Emotions and reminded everyone she’s The Queen of Christmas, Mariah truly showed why she’s One Sweet Day away from owning every stage she steps on.
As for the Suns? Honey, while they’ll Always Be My Baby, it was a Fantasy to think that they’d stand a chance in OKC. It was a Heartbreaker to see them struggle, but they need to Shake It Off.
- Kevin Durant: 1
- Jusuf Nurkic: 1
- Bradley Beal: 1
- Devin Booker: 1
- Josh Okogie: 1
- Mariah Carey: 1
Your nominees from last night’s poop-fest in OKC? Here you go:
Devin Booker
44 points (15-of-29, 6-of-13 3PT), 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 4 turnovers +4 +/-
This shot from Booker.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 17, 2024
Grayson Allen
18 points (6-of-10, 4-of-7 3PT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, -6 +/-
Grayson Allen immediately makes up for the wild miss a possession earlier. Booker doing everything he can to attract help on drives and free up his teammates pic.twitter.com/1ji94coRBn
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) November 17, 2024
Tyus Jones
13 points (6-of-12, 1-of-2 3PT), 11 assists, 3 steals, 5 rebounds, 1 turnover, -2 +/-
what a pass from Tyus and the finish from Okogie pic.twitter.com/ci88ogdS2m
— Cage (@ridiculouscage) November 17, 2024
Who gets it? Do I even need to ask?