Game Recap: Suns’ offense can’t find a rhythm, fall to Magic 109-99

The Valley has now lost four straight with both Bradley Beal and Devin Booker out of the lineup.

The Phoenix Suns could never get into a rhythm on offense tonight, leading to a 109-99 defeat against the Orlando Magic. Unsurprisingly, the team continues to struggle on offense without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, lacking efficiency and consistent scoring outside of Devin Booker.

The Suns are now 9-6 on the year and have lost four straight after starting the season 9-2. It’s another rough loss after losing against the Minnesota Timberwolves after Julius Randle traveled, and the refs missed it to make a buzzer-beating three.

Key Performers

• Tyus Jones — 18 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds
• Devin Booker — 17 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds
• Oso Ighodaro — 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
• Franz Wagner — 32 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds
• Goga Bitadze — 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist

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Game Flow

First Half

Despite the Suns coming in hot with their city jerseys that pay respect to the 30th anniversary of the 1995 NBA All-Star game in Phoenix, Orlando got off to a 7-0 lead, but Phoenix shortly after Tyus Jones and Devin Booker double-handedly went on a 12-4 run to give the Valley their first lead of the game. Jones, especially, was on a heater in the first, scoring 11 points in the quarter.

At the end of one, Orlando led the Valley 26-22. Phoenix shot just 7/21, while the Magic went 11/20 from the field.

Phoenix’s offense was stagnant to start the second, but in his first start of his young NBA career, Oso Ighodaro started to give the Valley’s scoring attack some light as the quarter went on. He had a huge slam that appeared to ignite the Phoenix crowd.

Despite the rookie’s exciting play, the Magic’s lead got to double digits for the first time with 6:02 left in the second after a Franz Wagner three put them up 45-34 and led to a Mike Budenholzer timeout.

The timeout didn’t help cut the deficit. Orlando’s defense and paint scoring had them up 64-48 to end the half.

Second Half

The Suns struggled to cut into the Magic lead early in the second half. When Grayson Allen came in and made a few shots, the offense started coming alive but they were unable to make up any ground. Every time the Suns made a few baskets, Orlando had an answer. Their lack of offensive firepower, with both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal not in the lineup, continued to show. Ryan Dunn had this awesome slam though!

At the end of three, the Magic were up 84-68.

The Suns cut the lead to 13, but Orlando stayed composed and got their lead up to 19. There was an imaginary wall over the Magic’s double-digit lead. No matter what Phoenix did, they could not cut into it effectively.

Orlando started to get sloppy with the ball and with less than five minutes left, the Valley cut the lead down to ten. Devin Booker’s tough three over Jonathan Isaac finally cut the lead into single digits. All of a sudden, the Valley had life, but it didn’t last for long, and the Magic took care of business late, giving them the 109-99 win. Phoenix has now lost four straight in the absence of both Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant.

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Up Next

Phoenix will host the New York Knicks on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Arizona time on ESPN before they have a six-day break in their schedule.