It wasn’t all bad for the Suns this season. Here are some high points.
The 2023-24 Phoenix Suns season was as up and down as a sin wave. One day, the team’s play resembled the bonafide title contender they were projected as heading into the year, the next day, they’d blow a massive fourth-quarter lead.
Their unruly demise came a week ago when the younger, attentive, and more collaborative Minnesota Timberwolves walloped them in four games.
The end of the Valley’s season was putrid, but Phoenix had some solid wins throughout it. Here are the team’s three signature wins of the season:
January 16: Phoenix comes back from down 22 in the fourth to beat the Kings
Considering Phoenix’s struggles in the fourth quarter this year, their miraculous 119-117 win against the Sacramento Kings was highly ironic.
Down 22 with 8:11 remaining, the Valley packed arguably their strongest offensive punch of the season, finishing the game on a 32-8 run. To close the game, the Suns went small, putting Kevin Durant in the center spot where he scored 12 points in the final 4:39 and flexed his defensive versatility.
The offensive explosion and the fast-paced play embodied the type of basketball that Phoenix played when they were at the peak of their powers this season. The comeback was during a stretch where the Valley scored at least 115 points in eight straight contests, winning seven.
March 5: Suns defeat Nuggets in OT with Booker out
Media members were questioning Phoenix’s roster construction and assessing if their season had been disappointing. With the team losing two devastating losses to the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder and Devin Booker injuring his ankle, people were down on the Suns.
“When they’ve been on the court together, they have been a damn good basketball team.”@jj_redick is more disappointed by the Phoenix Suns’ injuries than their performance pic.twitter.com/fzrLLNYOSs
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 5, 2024
On the road, not at full strength versus a Denver Nuggets team undefeated since the all-star break, the Valley muscled out a 117-107 overtime win. Durant had 35 points in the outing and the second quarter was one of the team’s best. Grayson Allen hit an absurd eight threes on 12 attempts. Phoenix went on a 23-2 run and had eight players score in the frame.
After classically blowing a double-digit lead, Durant hit a game-tying three with 26.1 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime where he and Bradley Beal got hot offensively.
KD 3 TO TIE THE GAME!
102-102
DENVER BALL, 4 SECONDS LEFT ON TNT https://t.co/R8DrGnfqMY pic.twitter.com/6Ytw3rJx1M
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2024
Phoenix showed their ability to play with the best of the best on any given day, even with Booker sidelined.
April 14: Phoenix pounces Minnesota to clinch playoff berth
It’s highly ironic, but the Suns’ 125-106 whooping of the Timberwolves on the last day of the regular season was one of the team’s best wins.
For the first time this season, both teams had their entire starting lineups active against playing other.
Minnesota would become the two-seed with a win and the third seed with a loss. For Phoenix, a win would secure them a spot in the top six with a New Orleans Pelicans loss, while defeat would seed Phoenix seventh.
With the stakes high, the Valley obliterated the Wolves, clinching a playoff berth. Bradley Beal poured in 36 points, his third-most in a game this season, and Phoenix got off to a dominating start, outscoring Minnesota 44-22 in the first frame.
The win appeared to inspire confidence in the team heading into the playoffs. With their backs against the wall to avoid the play-in, the team delivered a motivating performance heading into their extended break before the postseason.
Bradley Beal today:
36 points
6 rebounds
5 assists
2 steals
1 block6-6 from 3-PT.
It’s time. pic.twitter.com/N0VK6N0qGy
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) April 14, 2024
We all know how that confidence translated into the playoffs.
We will be reviewing more aspects of the 2023-24 Suns in the upcoming days as we begin our annual player reviews. Stay tuned to Bright Side to see if your thoughts align with our analysis fo the players that wore the purple and orange this season.