The Suns, coming off a successful road trip, can clinch their season series against the Sacramento Kings when the teams meet on Friday in Phoenix.
The Suns had a four-game winning streak snapped the last time out, a 129-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on New Year’s Eve that completed a 3-1 trip. Still, Phoenix has won five of its past seven games and is 18-10 since a 1-4 start to the season.
“To me, the Suns are the hardest-playing team in the league,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said before the Cavaliers beat the Suns. “That’s what I see.”
Missing key pieces, the Kings have gone the other direction. After a 120-106 home defeat against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, Sacramento has lost three in a row and 13 of 16 since victories against the Denver Nuggets (Nov. 22) and Minnesota Timberwolves (Nov. 24). The two-game run was the Kings’ only winning streak of the campaign.
The Suns topped the Kings in the teams’ first two meetings this season, including a 120-116 home victory in the season opener for both Oct. 22, a contest that encapsulates Phoenix’s campaign.
Phoenix overcame a 20-point second-quarter deficit. The ability to come from behind has become a fixture in coach Jordan Ott’s first season.
The Suns fell behind the Golden State Warriors by 14 points in a 99-98 victory on Dec. 18, and they trailed Minnesota by eight points in the final minute before recovering for a 114-113 win on Nov. 21.
Phoenix guard Collin Gillespie, who has started 14 of the past 15 games, has emerged as a key contributor. He produced 17 points and five 3-pointers against Cleveland, and he has made 100 treys this season, the most through the first 33 games in franchise history.
“We’re just taking advantage of what the defense gives us,” said Royce O’Neale, who ranked second on the Suns with 95 3-pointers. “We have guys creating closeouts for everybody, moving the ball, and guys (are) taking the shots and being confident.
“We have a lot of trust in each other to keep shooting it, and we’re knocking them down at a hot clip.”
Devin Booker scored 32 points for the Suns on Wednesday. Phoenix trimmed a 20-point first-half deficit to two late in the third quarter but never overtook the Cavaliers.
“They absolutely dominated at both ends,” Ott said. “First off, it’s their speed, their ability to get up and down the floor. That is what this game is becoming.”
The Kings have operated short-handed much of the season. Leading scorer Zach LaVine (20.2 points) has missed the past eight games with a left ankle injury, and double-double machine Domantas Sabonis has missed the past 20 with a left knee ailment that will keep him out at least two more weeks.
DeMar DeRozan, who put up 25 points against the Celtics, has averaged 22.0 points in LaVine’s absence. He scored a season-high 37 in a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 23.
Seven-foot-1 rookie Maxime Raynaud logged 12 points and eight rebounds on Thursday. He has averaged 14.4 points and 9.3 rebounds while starting the past 12 contests in place of Sabonis.
“When the ball gets down to crunch time, we are going to DeMar,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “He knows what to do with the basketball. Max has played really well. There are a lot of things we can lean on.
“This is a day-by-day process, just chipping away at it every day.”
