Game Recap: Suns fall to Grizzlies in high-scoring 151-148 overtime battle despite strong effort

A wild game ends with the Grizzlies winning in overtime.

The Phoenix Suns fall to the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime, 151-148.

It took the starting lineup of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bol Bol, and Nick Richards forming for the first time this season to spark the Suns. A team that had been lacking heart for the majority of the season showed plenty of heart Tuesday night against the Grizzlies.

With Booker fouling out with three minutes left in the game and the Suns only up by one point, the rest of the team had to step up in his absence.

They did just that, with Bol scoring 23 points, becoming the fifth member of the Suns to reach that mark.

The Suns started and finished strong, playing a game that could really help turn this team around. But it was a moral victory. A hard-fought battle that ended in a loss.

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Game Flow

First Half

Facing the strong stature of the Grizzlies, the Suns matched their energy and focus in the first six minutes of the game. With the score tied at 13 points apiece, the Suns showcased a little bit of everything—steals, fast breaks, mid-range knockdowns, and a great pace to fuel an electric offense.

Bol had a quick four points to start the game.

With the Suns taking an 18-17 lead, the Grizzlies were forced to burn a timeout after Nick Richards slammed home a dunk.

Every Suns starter contributed at least two points in the team’s first 18 points, which came on five assists. The offense looked determined to make a statement early.

Durant showed early resilience, getting his points quickly. Difficult shots are always a specialty of his—like the one below, which resulted in an and-1 and gave him nine points in the first quarter.

Suns shooters off the bench came in hot, hitting back-to-back threes to end the first quarter behind Tyus Jones and Royce O’Neale. This helped the Suns take a 34-31 lead heading into the second quarter.

Ryan Dunn’s defense entered the second quarter, helping hold the Suns accountable and maintain a respectable lead. With the Suns grabbing five second-chance points, the Grizzlies were forced to call a timeout to bring in Ja Morant, hoping to close the six-point gap that the Suns had extended to start the quarter.

Even after missing their first six shots of the quarter, the Suns bounced back by making their next six, maintaining a six-point lead. Their defense played a key role in keeping them on top, and with minimal turnovers, it was a clean start to the second quarter.

It was a fun first half of basketball with Richards having his own dunk fest.

The Suns played almost a perfect half, holding a small lead at halftime despite a few bad passes. They went into the break up 62-58 after executing well on both ends of the floor.

A balanced scoring effort, solid ball movement, and defensive intensity kept them in control for most of the first half. While the Grizzlies made a few runs, the Suns responded each time, showing poise and composure as they looked to carry their momentum into the second half.

Second Half

Memphis fought back to tie the game at the start of the third quarter, but the Suns kept their heads high and quickly regained the lead within a minute. They were led by Beal, who was playing point guard full-time in this game. With 18 points and seven assists at the seven-minute mark of the third quarter, Beal was putting on a standout performance.

Beal led the charge in the third quarter, slowly grabbing the attention of defenders and grabbing doubles to the paint, opening shots for others, including Booker. But with a few costly fouls called on the Suns, the Grizzlies hung around even with Ja 2-14 from the field.

The Suns reached their biggest lead of the game at 10 points, thanks to a couple of forced turnovers. While the Grizzlies struggled to figure things out offensively, the Suns were firing on all cylinders and taking advantage of the Grizzlies’ miscues.

Out of a timeout with three minutes left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies came out strong, going on an 8-2 run to cut the Suns’ lead to three. Luke Kennard drained two three-pointers, contributing to a 14-4 run that allowed the Grizzlies to tie the game. Then Durant made another poor pass, leading to the Grizzlies taking a two-point lead. All that momentum for the Suns was lost quickly—within minutes.

But the Suns held on and didn’t let the game slip away, taking a two-point lead of 103-101 to start the fourth quarter.

Grayson Allen opened the fourth quarter by knocking down two three-pointers, helping to defend the Suns’ lead against a Grizzlies team that came out with the same energy they finished the third quarter. Allen then hit his third three in a row, extending the Suns’ lead to five points.

But still, the Suns were not getting the calls.

It was a two-point game with five minutes left to go in the fourth quarter and the Suns were looking to put the game away, but staving off Ja and the Grizzlies was a tough battle. But the Suns had Booker, and he was firing away, looking to take the game over. At this point in the game, Booker had eight points, but on his attempt to tie the game at 126, he came up short.

It was once again Allen hitting a three-pointer to put the Suns up by three, but with three minutes left in the game, both Booker and Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out.

The game was forced to overtime after Ja hit a big floater to tie things up only giving the Suns one second left to hit a shot and Durant missed wide right.

But the Suns brought a strong force to finish the night in overtime, rallying behind Durant, who helped lead them to victory. He hit a three-pointer and then settled for a mid-range jumper, extending the Suns’ lead to four points.

It took everything for the Suns to hang with the Grizzlies, but the Suns found themselves down by three points with nine seconds to go in overtime, but Durant missed the game-tying three, giving the Grizzlies the victory in the end.

Grizzlies 151, Suns 148.

Up Next

The Suns are finally back home Thursday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. It will be the first of a back-to-back against the Pelicans.

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