Bright Side Baller: ‘Twas a nail-biter in Big D but the Suns prevailed

The Phoenix Suns won another clutch game. So who gets the award?

We return with the Bright Side Baller series, where we are looking at last night’s Phoenix Suns game, looking at who played the best, and asking ourselves, “Who was the Bright Side Baller?”. Until I come up with a better name for it, that’s what we are rolling with.

We’ve done this just once before, so the current season standings are:

• Kevin Durant: 1

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The Suns are turning the early season into a highlight reel, and last night’s 114-113 nail-biter over the Dallas Mavericks was no exception. With the team now riding a seven-game winning streak and boasting an impressive 8-1 start, the vibes in Phoenix are as radiant as a desert sunrise. This wasn’t just another chapter in the “Kevin Durant Closing Time Chronicles,” though. Instead, the hero of the hour was Jusuf Nurkic, who might as well have borrowed a cape on his way to the basket.

As the clock wound down and the tension rose, it was Nurkic, the Suns’ towering center, who delivered in the clutch. With a composed finish to put the Suns ahead and a daring swipe at Kyrie Irving — whose handles could mesmerize a snake — Nurkic sealed the deal with the swagger of a player who knows his moment when he sees it.

Royce O’Neale showed shades of Jae Crowder with a shooting performance that had Dallas scrambling for answers like they’d lost the last page of a test. The Mavericks tried everything short of sending a smoke signal to stop him from deep, and just when they thought they’d solved the puzzle, O’Neale flipped the script and bulldozed his way inside. Call it basketball’s version of “Whac-A-Mole”: shut down one approach, and Royce pops up somewhere else.

Meanwhile, Devin Booker, who came into the game with residual food poisoning symptoms, had a night that might redefine the term “quiet brilliance.” His three-point touch was as frigid as a missed desert sunrise, but he made up for it with distribution that bordered on wizardry, boasting an eye-popping 12:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Alas, his quest for a triple-double ended just four rebounds short.

And then there was Tyus Jones, the calm amidst the storm. He chipped in 17 points with the composure of a guy who could parallel-park a bus during rush hour. But scoring aside, it was his knack for setting the table that made a difference. When he wasn’t logging assists, he was dishing out hockey assists, making him the silent engine in an orchestra of chaos. Steady hands make for smoother rides, and the Suns are enjoying the journey.

Kevin Durant

26 points (8-of-14, 3-of-6 3PT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +11 +/-

Jusuf Nurkic

15 points (6-of-12, 2-of-4 3PT), 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, -3 +/-

Royce O’Neale

18 points (7-of-8, 4-of-4 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, +14 +/-

Devin Booker

13 points (5-of-13, 1-of-8 3PT), 12 assists, 0 turnovers, 6 rebounds, -17 +/-

Tyus Jones

17 points (7-of-13, 3-of-5 3PT), 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 rebounds, -+14 +/-

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So who wins Bright Side Baller tonight?