Game Recap: Suns win third straight after 4th quarter rally, 120-113

The Phoenix Suns got a much needed revenge win against the scrappy young Hornets.

The Phoenix Suns looked dead in the water to open the game. A furious 19-5 run to close the game out was enough to get them back to the .500 mark at 19-19. Boy did they need this one.

The Hornets led by as many as 12 points, and outrebounded the Suns by 13 in a game they lost Grayson Allen at the half. There was plenty of adversity faced for a team playing their second game in as many nights against a young, well-rested Hornets team.

Shoutout to rookies Oso Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn for their play tonight. They stepped up along with some clutch late Royce O’Neale minutes after he got off to a slow start in his return.

Top Performers

• Kevin Durant — 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-24 FG
• Devin Booker — 30 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 10-20 FG
• LaMelo Ball — 25 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 9-25 FG
• Mark Williams — 24 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-17 FG

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

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First Half

The Suns got off to a slow start. Charlotte scored the first 8 points of the game, leaving fans standing longer than they’d hoped for the “stand until we score” ordeal. Finally, Devin Booker drilled a jumper that allowed them to take their seats after the 3-minute drought.

The Hornets youthful chaos took over early, stretching their lead to 10 at 18-8. Phoenix being on the second of a back-to-back cannot be an excuse.

Bradley Beal went on a quick personal 5-0 to make it a 25-18 ballgame, leading to a Charlotte timeout.

Immediately after the timeout, Beal laid it in for another two.

LaMelo was cooking early with 9 points and 5 dimes in his first 10 minutes of play. Charlotte was running up and down the floor, pushing the pace frequently in the opening period.

Beal poured in 10 first-quarter points, but the Suns trailed 34-28 after one.

Mark Williams was killing the Suns in the interior. He pulled down an offensive board over Oso to put in an easy deuce to give him 11 points and 7 boards with 10:40 remaining in the opening half.

Grayson Allen and Bradley Beal continued to provide a spark off the bench for the Suns. Allen had this impressive sequence early in the 2nd.

A thunderous Ryan Dunn slam tied the game at 42 a piece after the rookie threw it down.

He hit a corner three not long after this slam below.

Phoenix came back to take the lead after a Grayson Allen four-point play.

Mark Williams continued to dominate, posting 22 points and 13 rebounds in the first half. He was a handful and a half for the Suns’ centers.

Entering the half, Phoenix and Charlotte were knotted up at 62.

Second Half

The Suns started Oso Ighodaro for Mason Plumlee in the second half after the rough start vs. Charlotte’s bigs.

Grayson Allen (knee) was ruled out for the rest of the game, a brutal blow for a team that was starting to find its identity in the second unit.

The Suns started a bit slow, but came back to cut it to a 74-72 deficit after a breakaway Devin Booker layup, leading to a Hornets timeout.

Phoenix struggled to capture the momentum that brought them back into the game as Charlotte slowly built their lead back up to nine after a Miles Bridges corner three.

The Suns came back to close the 3rd quarter strong, cutting the lead to three.

In the final possession of the quarter, instead of getting a bucket to close out the quarter, they not only missed the shot but left enough time for Charlotte to get a fastbreak layup.

The Hornets led 98-83 heading into the 4th quarter.

The teams traded buckets to open the 4th period tied at 8 a piece heading into the first timeout.

A Royce O’Neale triple cut the lead down to just three at 108-105 with five minutes remaining. A 10-2 run gave Phoenix a one-point lead before a deep Brandon Miller three put the Hornets back on top by two.

Oso Ighodaro made some hard rolls to the rim leading to free throws and a dunk to tie it up at 113.

Royce O’Neale and Oso Ighodaro were vital in the Suns’ late-game run. An O’Neale three put Phoenix on top 118-113 with 40.7 seconds remaining.

It was a much-needed strong finish for a Suns team that is set to begin a long road trip.

Up Next?

The Suns travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks to begin a 5-game road trip across the country.