Suns Rising Through Winter Grind ☀️

01/25/2024 Suns Rising Through Winter Grind ☀️

By: Jeff Yoder

Phoenix Suns Win 7th Straight & The ‘Big 3’ Finally Look Like the Juggernaut Everyone Expected

The ‘Big 3’ in Phoenix is finally putting it together after a sluggish start. They were riddled with injuries through the first few months of the NBA season, but the Suns are rising again. Phoenix torched the Mavericks on Wednesday night (132-109) with a 46-point outing from Devin Booker. That’s their seventh consecutive win, and Booker’s 46 comes on the heels of back-to-back 40-point games from Kevin Durant. Durant only had 12 last night, but he took just ten shots in recognition of Booker’s moment. It appears to be a “feed-the-hot-hand” scenario in Phoenix, and it’s working. The trio of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal are all finally healthy, consistently, and that firepower appears lethal. The Suns (26-18) now hold the NBA’s longest active win streak, and they’re within five games of the West lead after once falling below .500 on Christmas Day (14-15). What a turnaround. Those white-hot uniforms are clean, too.

 

Watch: Devin Booker’s 46 Fuels Suns to 7th Straight

 

Other NBA Highlights

Thunder Keep Rumbling: Who would’ve guessed the Oklahoma City Thunder would be the No. 1 team in the West towards the end of January? Not us. OKC won their fourth straight last night, besting Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs (140-114). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32-6-10) poured in another top-notch performance. SGA could be submitting his name for MVP consideration.

The Doc Is In For Milwaukee: Though he’s not yet on the sideline. The Bucks officially made Doc Rivers their next head coach on Wednesday as expected, and then Giannis Antetokounmpo hung a triple-double (35-18-10) on the visiting Cavs in a statement win (126-116). Rivers’ first game is expected to be Friday night.

Pistons Win No. 5: It’s taken the Detroit Pistons 44 games to win five, but hey, a win is a win. The Pistons beat the Hornets on Wednesday (113-106) thanks to Bojan Bogdanovic catching fire (34 points). Detroit needs to win 10 games by season’s end to avoid joining the 1973 Sixers (9-73) as the only teams with single-digit wins in an 82-game season.

*Check tomorrow’s edition for our mid-season NBA awards and a pre-trade deadline standings update.

 

Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images