Suns Strokes: Strong contribution from bench propels Suns to win over Thunder

PHOENIX — Playing their second game in as many nights, the Phoenix Suns appeared fresh.

OK, maybe not early on, but as the game progressed, they got stronger.

Perhaps it was the sellout crowd, the eighth of the season.

Perhaps it was the opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Whatever the reason, the Suns, for just the second time this season, swept a back-to-back set, beating the Thunder, the seventh-seed in the Western Conference, 118-111.

And just like the night before, the Suns (20-42) placed six players in double figures, split evenly between starters and reserves.

Eric Bledsoe (18 points), Devin Booker (17) and T.J. Warren (15) led the first unit, while Leandro Barbosa (14), Tyler Ulis (14) and Alan Williams (14) highlighted a 55-22 bench advantage over the Thunder.

Williams recorded yet another double-double, his sixth of the season, with 13 rebounds plus he added three blocks.

Ulis, whose point total was a season-best, had seven of the Suns’ 28 assists, helping account for nearly 50 percent (49.4) shooting from the field.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak to the Thunder (35-27), who like the Suns were playing the second game of a back-to-back.

Arriving at 4 a.m. after a loss in Portland, the Thunder built an early 12-point lead.

The game, though, changed in the second quarter, when the Suns outscored the Thunder, 35-27, to take their first lead of the game, an advantage they would not relinquish the rest of the night.

Russell Westbrook, who had recorded triple-doubles in each of the previous two meetings, fell one assist shy of what would’ve been triple-double No. 31 of the season, finishing with 48 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists.

The Thunder have dropped two straight.

THE GOOD

It took some time but the Suns finally found their offense late in the first quarter. They scored on five straight offensive possessions with under three minutes to play: Booker had five points, including a 3-pointer, Ulis four and Williams two. The Suns used the late surge to close the period on an 11-4 run to trail 28-23 after the game’s first 12 minutes.

Spurred by their bench, the Suns outscored the Thunder 10-4 to begin the second quarter, taking their first lead of the game, 33-32, at the 7:51 mark. It was Ulis, who had eight of his team-high 12 first-half points in the period, running the offense joined by Williams, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley and Derek Jones, Jr. The lead grew to as many as eight points (58-50).

Already up six, the Suns went on an 8-0 run behind Bledsoe (six points) and Booker (two points); the former hitting 2-of-3 free throws to make it a 77-63 ballgame at the 5:33 mark of the third quarter. It was the Suns’ largest lead of the game. Now, while that was good, Warren was even better. He scored a game-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in the period.

Of the Suns’ first six fourth-quarter points, Barbosa had a hand in all six. It was a sign of things to come. Barbosa had a team-best 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 3-pointer, and a pair of free throws plus two assists playing all 12 minutes of the period. He passed Connie Hawkins (6,368) to move into 14th on the Suns’ all-time scoring list.

THE BAD

Looking like a team that played the night before, the Suns opened missing seven of their first eight shots and had just three made field goals over their first 17 attempts. In fact, they had more turnovers (five) than good baskets (three) through nine minutes of action, allowing the Thunder to go up double-digits, 24-12, at the 2:53 mark of the first quarter.

Things got a bit chippy in the second quarter between Jones, Jr. and Westbrook. The two had words, needed to be separated and after Westbrook shoved Jones, Jr., double technical fouls were assessed. This all happened less than a minute after Jones, Jr. drew an offensive foul on Westbrook, taking a Westbrook elbow to the face, which caused a bloody lip.

It’s hard to be a productive player if you can’t stay on the court. Alex Len picked up two personal fouls in the first two minutes of the third quarter. He then was whistled for a third, his fourth of the game, at the 7:14 mark. Len exited the game in favor of Williams. Len never did return, finishing with six points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.

Though he missed out on a triple-double, Westbrook put on show in the fourth quarter. He scored 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line plus had two assists to account for 25 of the Thunder’s 32 points in the period. Westbrook, by the way, is averaging 41.7 points, 13.7 assists and 13.7 rebounds in three games against the Suns this season.

STAT OF THE GAME, part I

49.3: The Suns have now shot better than 48 percent from the field in six straight games, their longest such streak since a run of six in a row from March 10-26, 2009

STAT OF THE GAME, part II

28: The Suns have now recorded at least 22 assists in six straight games, their longest such streak since a run of six in a row from March 22-April 3, 2013

HE SAID IT

“Our young guys are coming out there fighting every time,” head coach Earl Watson said. “Sometimes there’s some techs involved, but that’s how we have to play. These guys have to fight. They have to have an edge. I think it changed the game.”

NOTED

Suns tied their season-long home winning streak with their third straight victory.

Suns won their first game in the series versus the Thunder since Feb. 26, 2015.

Barbosa made his 544th Suns appearance, passing Mark West for ninth-most all-time.

Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight did not play, that’s now five consecutive games.

At halftime, Al McCoy became the 15th member inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor.

UP NEXT

Another home game.

The season-long five-game Valley stay continues when the Boston Celtics visit on Sunday, March 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

This is the first of two meetings this season with the Celtics having won three straight including a season-series sweep a year ago.

Boston got 28 points from former Suns point guard Isaiah Thomas and a double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds) from Evan Turner in the most recent matchup, a 102-99 victory in Phoenix on March 28.

Booker led the Suns with 21 points.

Overall, the Suns have won seven of their last 13 games against the Celtics.

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