Vying for postseason positioning in the final week of the regular season, the Phoenix Suns close out a four-game road swing on Sunday with a matinee against the Chicago Bulls.
Phoenix (42-35), sitting in seventh in the Western Conference and occupying the top play-in round spot entering Saturday, failed to capitalize on sixth-place Minnesota dropping a pair of games. Four games behind the Timberwolves, the Suns come into Sunday’s contest having dropped their last two decisions, falling at Orlando on Tuesday and Charlotte on Thursday.
After deluging the Hornets with 41 first-quarter points, Phoenix sputtered in the subsequent three periods en route to a 127-107 blowout loss.
Suns coach Jordan Ott has been tinkering with lineups ahead of the postseason, which included bringing big man Mark Williams off the bench Thursday. Williams scored 12 points and blocked three shots in a reserve role, providing Phoenix with a spark, though Ott said Williams remains “in the starting arrangements.”
“We like how we’re trending healthy right now,” Ott said, referring to the Suns having more options with much of the roster available. “We’ve all got to figure it out. We’re all part of the solution.”
While Phoenix visits the Windy City with focus on the play-in round, Chicago (29-48) is wrapping up its season in the closing stretch. The Bulls are eliminated from postseason contention and riding a six-game losing streak after a 136-96 rout at New York on Friday.
Chicago has surrendered at least 125 points in all six losses, reflective of a season-long trend. Their 121.6-point per game yield is the third-highest in the NBA.
The 96 points Chicago scored in New York were its fewest since posting a season-low 91 on Feb. 1.
“I really think we started off the season the right way,” Josh Giddey said via the Chicago Sun-Times. “We were building momentum with the group we had, and then obviously at the deadline things changed.”
The Bulls underwent significant roster changes midway through the campaign, sending Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu to playoff contenders Charlotte, Boston and Minnesota, respectively.
Chicago brought on Anfernee Simons, who scored 20-plus points in two of his first five appearances as a Bull before sustaining a wrist injury that has sidelined him for six weeks. Jaden Ivey was waived last week.
Collin Sexton is the lone significant roster addition to have played more than six games with the Bulls. He is averaging 17.3 points per game in his 21 appearances with Chicago.
Sexton’s output is tops among current Bulls, just ahead of Giddey’s 17 ppg. Giddey is also averaging 9.1 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game with a career-high 13 triple-doubles on the season.
Giddey missed Chicago’s last matchup with Phoenix, a 105-103 Bulls win on March 5. Sexton went for 30 points, outdueling Devin Booker’s 27 points.
Booker’s 25.7 ppg lead the Suns while Dillon Brooks adds 20.5 points and Jalen Green averages 18.2.
