Suns move into playoff contention with win over Wizards: By The Numbers
Mar 27, 2014, 2:53 AM | Updated: 2:54 am
The Phoenix Suns entered play Wednesday just a half game out of playoff contention and a four-game winning streak in hand.
They took the floor in the nation’s capital against a 36-34 Washington Wizards team that had its own playoff battle to fight, sitting in 6th place in the Eastern Conference.
But it was the Suns who took care of business, jumping out to a 10-point lead by halftime, thanks to a hot start shooting.
The Wizards staged a fierce comeback over the game’s final 15 minutes, but Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and the Suns managed to do just enough to hold them off.
Here’s a look at the key 99-93 win, by the numbers:
5
The Suns tied a season-high five-game winning streak with their win Wednesday, something they’ve done two other times this season. A win Friday against the New York Knicks would set a new season high streak.
7
The Suns moved into 7th place in the Western Conference with the win over the Wizards, entering a tie with the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, who are both 12 games out of first place in the conference. The Grizzlies were set to play the Utah Jazz following the Suns’ game on Wednesday.
14
The Suns hit 14 of their 28 three-point attempts against the Wizards, with Bledsoe, Dragic and Gerald Green each hitting three, while P.J. Tucker and Channing Frye both had a pair. The team started the game shooting 6-of-8 from downtown.
17
Former Suns center Marcin Gortat collected 17 points and five rebounds on Wednesday, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the floor and 1-of-4 from the line.
25
The Suns’ lead was stretched to 25 points with as little as 5:01 remaining in the third quarter against the Wizards, but a 29-8 run put them down just four points with 7:09 to play. The Suns would ultimately never trail in the final three quarters of the game.
29
Wizards point guard John Wall grabbed a game-high 29 points against the Suns on 10-of-22 shooting. In one previous contest against Phoenix this year, Wall had 18 points and 12 assists.
54
Suns’ starters shot 54 percent on the night, collectively pouring in 10 three-pointers, with all but center Miles Plumlee knocking down multiple long-range shots.
91.7
The Suns hit 11-of-12 free-throw attempts Wednesday, good for 91.7 percent from the line. Bledsoe was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while Green hit 5-of-6, all coming in the fourth quarter.
