The Mortgage Matchup Center was buzzing Sunday night. Charlotte’s Hornets had rolled into Phoenix riding one of the hottest road streaks the NBA had seen in years. Ten straight wins away from home. Ten straight times, they had silenced opposing crowds and sent fans filing out with their heads down.
Not this time.
The Phoenix Suns had other plans — and Devin Booker made sure of it.
Booker Takes Over When It Matters Most
Booker finished with 30 points and 10 assists, and perhaps more impressively, he made all 15 of his free throw attempts. Not one miss. That kind of precision at the line — in a game with real stakes — is what separates good players from great ones. He may have struggled from three (1-for-6), but it didn’t matter. Booker found other ways to hurt the Hornets all night long.
“Winning is fun, team chemistry is fun,” Booker said afterward, and you could feel every word of it.
This was his 15th 30-point game of the season. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t a highlight reel. It was just Devin Booker doing what Devin Booker does — willing his team to a win when the moment demands it.
A Suns Trio That Was Simply Too Much
Phoenix didn’t just rely on Booker. Jalen Green added 24 points, flashing the kind of athleticism that makes you sit up straight in your seat. Collin Gillespie quietly matched him with 24 of his own, knocking down five three-pointers and making big shot after big shot down the stretch. When it mattered most — in the fourth quarter — Gillespie was everywhere. Back-to-back threes early in the final period essentially put the game to bed.
Combined, Booker, Green, and Gillespie put up 78 points. The Hornets had no answer.
Then there was Rasheer Fleming off the bench. The Suns reserve posted a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, draining four threes. When your bench is doing that, opponents have nowhere to hide.
Charlotte’s Streak Hits a Wall
Let’s give the Hornets credit. A 10-game road winning streak is something special. The last team to do that away from home was the 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 11 straight on the road. Charlotte hadn’t lost away from home since January 17th at Golden State — a stretch that had the basketball world paying attention.
LaMelo Ball did what he could, finishing with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Miles Bridges chipped in 16. Rookie sensation Kon Knueppel — who leads the entire NBA with 224 three-pointers on the season — added 15, though he shot just 2-of-8 from deep on the night.
The Suns led 60-58 at halftime, but the third quarter is where Phoenix started to pull away. The Suns built a lead that Charlotte could never fully close. Every time the Hornets made a run, Phoenix had a response.
Suns Shorthanded but Unfazed
What makes this win even more impressive is who wasn’t on the floor for Phoenix. Dillon Brooks (hand fracture) and Mark Williams (foot fracture) both sat out. Key reserve Grayson Allen also missed the game with a sore right knee. The Suns were missing real contributors — players who matter — and they still handled the Hornets by 12.
Credit goes to rookie center Khaman Maluach, who logged a season-high 20 minutes and finished with 4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He’s raw, but he’s showing real flashes of what he could become.
What This Win Means for the Suns
Phoenix improved to 37-27 on the season and now sits second in the Pacific Division, just two games behind the LA Lakers. They’ve won four of their last five, and they’re playing their best basketball heading into a six-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Milwaukee.
For the Hornets, the streak is gone — but the bigger picture is still bright. Charlotte is 16-5 in its last 21 games after a dismal 4-14 start. They’re very much alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, sitting just three games back of sixth place.
Sunday night belonged to Phoenix. To Booker. To a Suns team that stared down history and didn’t blink.
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