Suns withstand Pistons rally to earn Summer League win
After building a 17-point first-quarter lead, the Suns watched it disappear in the third quarter before rallying to win by 12.
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The Phoenix Suns looked well on their way to another comfortable NBA Summer League victory before the Detroit Pistons made things interesting.
After building a 17-point first-quarter lead, Phoenix watched it disappear as Detroit stormed back to take its first lead with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter. The Suns, however, responded with a decisive run, regained control before the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 100-88 victory Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The win improved Phoenix to 3-1 in Las Vegas.
The Suns closed the game on a dominant stretch after Detroit briefly seized momentum. Phoenix outscored the Pistons 22-14 in the fourth quarter while holding them to 37.7% shooting for the game.
Second-year center Khaman Maluach continued his impressive Summer League with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, knocking down 2 of 5 attempts from 3-point range and adding nine rebounds, an assist and a block in just under 28 minutes.
Khaman with back-to-back triples 🪣 pic.twitter.com/gNyZnR8ZBg
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 15, 2026
Koa Peat stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, while Rasheer Fleming added 22 points and eight rebounds. Fleming shot 8-for-12 from the field and connected on four 3-pointers.
Phoenix shot 51.5% from the floor and made nine 3-pointers despite going just 14-for-25 at the free-throw line.
The Suns appeared in complete control early.
Phoenix scored 27 points in the opening quarter before exploding for 26 more in the second to take a 53-46 halftime advantage. Its defense forced Detroit into difficult looks throughout the opening quarter as the Pistons shot 20% overall and 0% from beyond the arc on eight attempts.
But Detroit didn’t fold.
The Pistons opened the second half with an extended run that erased the deficit and finally moved in front.
Instead of unraveling, Phoenix answered immediately.
The Suns regained the lead before the end of the third quarter and carried that momentum into the final period, where they put the game away with balanced scoring and timely defense.
Koby Brea chipped in five points and five assists, while Javonte Cooke scored 12 points off the bench. Darius Brown added nine points and six assists without committing a turnover.
Detroit was led by Brice Williams’ 24 points, while Isaac Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Chaz Lanier finished with 15 points and Ebuka Okorie scored 16.
Phoenix dominated the glass, outrebounding Detroit 45-35, and finished with 26 assists on 35 made field goals.
After surviving Detroit’s rally, Phoenix finished with its third win in four Summer League games.
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Comments
7 Comments
I too was impressed with K P, after suffering with the last U oA 1st round pick, remember d A! It appears that he can help on both Offense &Defense & unlike D A plays with intensity!
Yes! Are we going to the Summer League playoffs, baby?!🙌🏾✊🏾😂
After 4 Preseason Games I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with Koa Peat. After the first 10 minutes of his 1st preseason game, Peat settled in nicely and played a lot like his did at the UofPay. After fouling a ton in the 1st game, Peat settled down nice and showed that defensively he was solid defending, rebounding, even occasionally challenging shot. He demonstrating that he could be effective defending either the 3 or the 4. I really liked how he used and took advantage of his size. Offensively, while he's still a work-in-progress until he can demonstrate he can shoot the 3 effectively, the smartest thing he did to force things. He stayed away from "proving" he could shoot the 3 in favor of demonstrating a very effective mid-range game that created for both himself and his teammates. Peat knew what to do both on the break and in half-court sets, and was outstanding finishing at the rim, effectively using his size to hold off defenders and draw fouls. I was most impressed by his ability to get his shot off the dribble against same size, bigger and smaller players.
Between now and when the fall Preseason schedule is announced in August, I would expect Peat will put a ton of time in working on his 3 point shot. For now he's made a great start that the UofPay faithful enjoyed watching.