Suns reach new level of competitiveness in win over Bucks
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have found it, a level of competitiveness and enthusiasm that during most of the season was totally absent at any threshold, let alone the heights it is reaching now.
Time will tell the depths to which “it” changes their season, but for now, it’s doing a whole hell of a lot.
Phoenix beat the Milwaukee Bucks 108-106 on Monday, its fourth straight win and second in a row playing a tremendous brand of basketball against a quality opponent.
“I just like that we’re just standing on our identity of playing hard, playing for each other even more,” Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant said. “I felt like we had good intentions throughout the year trying to do things the right way, but I think we’re more decisive (with) what we want to do on both ends which is making us closer as a team.”
That is not a score typo. The Suns came into the night 5-17 when scoring under 110 points, thanks largely to an inability to win through their defense. They did that on Monday.
“Each possession we’re communicating better, we’re scrambling better, we’re rebounding better and we’re keeping the ball in front,” Durant said. “We do those things, those are core things that we do on the defensive side of the ball that pretty much dictates the whole game for us.”
The Suns opened the game with three turnovers in four possessions while Milwaukee was generating outstanding looks early, an early indication that this was going to be a slugfest for Phoenix if it were to come away with a victory.
That is indeed what it turned into, and the Suns went blow for blow with a great basketball team tossing those punches often.
