Phoenix Suns Hang On To Beat Orlando Magic In Nail-Biting 113-110 Double OT Finish
Although it’s still winter in the state of Arizona at the moment, you wouldn’t guess it with how scorching hot the Phoenix Suns have been lately. They notched their 33rd victory of the season, narrowly edging out the Orlando Magic thanks to the clutch heroics of Jalen Green tonight.
Suns Offense Still Executes At a High-Level Despite Injuries
While the Suns were once again without the services of All-Star Devin Booker, who missed tonight’s game due to a hip strain, Phoenix was still able to have a productive night on offense. That was evident in the box score, where the Suns saw five players finish in double figures. That was also shown in the assists department as well, as the Suns totaled 20 assists on 40 made shots in the game.
However, team play mattered very little at the end of the game, where one player in Jalen Green made the play of the night to seal the win. Although Green would shoot a poor 6 for 26 from the field for the game, his buzzer-beating three would more than make up for a less-than-stellar shooting performance. Green finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in the win.
The other biggest story of the game, besides Green’s clutch shot, is the injuries that continue to pile up for Phoenix. The short-handed Suns’ ranks got much thinner just seven minutes into the game, as star Forward Dillon Brooks left the game due to a hand injury and didn’t return. While it is not yet known the severity of Brooks’ injury, it is another blow to a team in Phoenix that is looking to climb up the Western Conference standings.
Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane Star for the Magic in the Loss
Despite the negative outcome for Orlando, the Magic can hold their heads high knowing their star players came to play tonight. Banchero and Bane combined for 60 of the Magic’s 110 total points in the game, with 26 points and 34 points apiece. It was an especially hot start for Bane in the game, as he scored 25 points in the first half to keep the Magic within striking distance heading into the second half.
Outside of both Bane and Banchero, the Magic’s offensive production would quickly evaporate as Orlando could not find any sort of rhythm aside from their two stars. The most disappointing performance would come from Tristan da Silva, who had just 5 points on 2-for- 10 shooting from the field. Da Silva was coming off one of his better performances in the Magic’s win against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, where he finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds in just 18 minutes.
The two biggest areas the Magic struggled in this game were in both rebounding and ball security. Orlando had 16 turnovers, which would lead to 22 easy points for the Suns, while also allowing Phoenix to snag 65 rebounds as they got pulverized on the boards.
Where Each Team Sits in Their Respective Conference Standings
Following tonight’s win, the Suns stay firmly in the hunt for a higher seed in the Western Conference, as they now sit just two games back of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 6th seed. The Suns have seemingly been in play-in position all year.
For the Magic, they fall right back into the 7th-place position in the East as they continue to ping pong between 5th and 7th-place spots. The silver lining for the Magic is that the middle playoff spots in the East are as jam-packed as ever, with only 5 games separating Orlando from the 3rd-place Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Magic can string together a fair number of wins while also limiting their losses, they have a great shot at stealing one of the higher playoff seeds.
