The Phoenix Suns (4-4) beat the Chicago Bulls in overtime 116-115 on Wednesday.
Phoenix ended its three-game road trip with its second straight win in a nail-biter.
Kevin Durant and Grayson Allen are Phoenix’s leading scorers with 25 and 26 points, respectively. Bradley Beal had 13 points in his regular-season debut, and Yusuf Nurkic (20 points on the season, 17 rebounds, eight assists) made a shot in the paint to put Phoenix up by one with seven seconds to play.
Nikola Vucevic had 26 points for Chicago (3-6), and DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine tied for 22.
Phoenix committed 22 turnovers to Chicago’s 15 in a very physical matchup.
The Phoenix begin their three-game homestand this Friday against their Pacific Division rival the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Sun, Bulls go into overtime
Phoenix and Chicago were tied at 107-107 at the end of regulation.
Grayson Allen filled his stat sheet with a game-high 26 points, career-best 3s, grabbed eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and a block. Durant has 23 points, and missed the last shot attempt from Chicago’s Alex Caruso (16 points, four rebounds, two blocks).
Phoenix’s Keita Bates-Diop hit a baseline layup with 25 seconds left that would have made it 109-105, but Yusuf Nurkic was called for a motion screen on the same play, which deflected the basket. DeMar DeRozan then tied the game at 107-107 on a layup 10 seconds later.
Chicago’s leading scorers, Nikola Vucevic, had 23 points, Zach LaVine had 22 and DeRozan had 20 going into overtime.
Allen’s hot hand helps the Sun regain the lead in the 4th quarter
Phoenix jumped back in front of Chicago 88-84 to end the third quarter.
Durant led Phoenix with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Grayson Allen has the same shooting statistics, as he scored 11 points in the second of his team’s 20 points, making three of the team’s seven in the third. Phoenix senior Yusuf Nurkic had his best game so far this season, contributing 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Zach LaVine scored 15 of 22 points, and shot a stellar 70%.
The Bulls tighten up their defense to tie the Suns at halftime
Phoenix and Chicago were tied 57-57 at halftime.
Chicago bounced back from Phoenix’s largest lead (18 in the first quarter) by pressuring Phoenix. In the second, Chicago forced five turnovers to Phoenix’s eight total, and scored 13 points on those five.
The Phoenix lead was cut to one, with four lead changes in the final minute of the half.
Durant has a career-high 14 points and five assists. Bradley Beal has eight points, but is shooting 2-of-9 since hitting two 3-pointers in the first opener.
Chicago had three of its starters score in double figures, including Nikola Vucevic’s team-high 12 points. DeMar DeRozan and Coby White have 11 apiece.
The rapid onset of the Sun leads to the entry of the 2nd quarter
Phoenix closed the first half ahead of Chicago, 36-28.
Kevin Durant (high 10 points, three assists, two rebounds), Bradley Beal (six points, two assists), and a lot of unselfish shooting avoided the Phoenix’s 22-4 start from start to finish 6:29 mark the biggest lead of the game.
Chicago responded with a run of its own by outscoring Phoenix 16-5 over the next two and a half minutes. Alex Caruso hit three straight 3s within a minute, cutting the lead to 27-20.
Phoenix extended its lead late in the season as it traded buckets with Chicago.
Suns, Bulls starting the program
Phoenix will start Beal, Grayson Allen (who will replace the injured Booker at shooting guard for the third straight game and seventh total this season), Keita Bates-Diop at small forward, Kevin Durant at the four man, and Yusuf Nurkic in the middle.
Chicago has Coby White as the starting point guard, Zach LaVine at the two-point guard, six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, Suns forward Torrey Craig, and Nikola Vucevic.
Beal is set for the start of the regular season
It won’t be the Big 3 yet, but two out of three ain’t bad.
The Republican’s Duane Rankin reported this afternoon that Bradley Beal, who has yet to play in a regular season game, will start tonight along with Kevin Durant in Chicago, but Devin Booker is not available.
