The first outing for Phoenix’s “Big Three” resulted in a lack of cohesiveness and a disappointing loss.
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal will look for a reversal on both fronts when the Suns host the New York Knicks on Friday night.
The trio combined for 75 points in Wednesday night’s 116-112 home setback to the Brooklyn Nets in their much-anticipated first game together.
Beal was acquired from the Washington Wizards in the offseason to form the power threesome with Booker and Durant. But back injuries have limited Beal to five games, and either Booker or Durant was sidelined with ailments on the first four occasions in which Beal was able to play.
So finally, in the Suns’ 24th game, the three stars were playing together. But Phoenix still lost for the fifth time in the past seven games.
“It’s the first game with those three out there together,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “A lot of figuring it out — when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive.”
Durant said it would be foolish to project a timetable for when the three will mesh.
“Basketball is unpredictable, man. Who knows?” Durant said. “You can’t pinpoint or get you an exact time on when we’re gonna get it clicking. … It could be tomorrow, it could be two weeks from now. But I know we’re going to come to work and try to figure it out the best we can.”
Booker stood out with 34 points and 12 assists Wednesday while Durant scored 27 after missing the previous two games due to a sprained left ankle. Beal tallied 14 points.
Jusuf Nurkic also was solid with 15 points and 22 rebounds, but Phoenix was outplayed down the stretch by the Nets.
“You don’t want to get too high or get too low,” Booker said. “You go on a win streak and the team feels like they’re on top of the world and there’s nothing wrong, and then you lose three games in a row and you feel like you’re not going to make the playoffs.”
New York lost the opener of a five-game trip when it dropped a 117-113 decision to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. It was the Knicks’ third loss in four games.
New York trailed by 17 points with under 6 1/2 minutes to play before closing the gap in the final moments.
“We want to play for a full 48 minutes, playing our style of basketball, the way we want to play,” Knicks standout guard Jalen Brunson said. “We can’t have lapses like that and lose a game.”
Julius Randle produced 32 points and 12 rebounds for his third 30-point effort in the past four games. However, Randle didn’t take a shot from the field in the final quarter, when he scored just two points, both on free throws.
The Knicks also struggled from 3-point range, making 9 of 39 attempts.
“And that was sort of the story of the game. You’re going to have nights like that,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said about the shaky 3-point shooting. “When you go on the road, obviously, you have to be at your best. Your margin for error is tight.”
–Field Level Media