Suns beat Wizards, enter league’s toughest remaining schedule

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have won eight of their last 11 games, a figure that is some type of tangible progress, but not as much as it should be after Saturday’s 119-109 victory over the Washington Wizards was another uninspiring one.

Washington started the year 2-2 and is 4-35 since. Saturday’s defeat made it a 13-game losing streak.

Phoenix went up 14 early, not so much a byproduct of playing high-level basketball but by taking care of the ball and limiting second-chance opportunities. Washington cut it to six a few times in the second quarter before the Suns extended the lead to as many as 19 in the mid third-quarter.

That’s when the Suns’ mental detachment began and those categories started adding up again, predictably leading to the Wizards getting within four with 2:26 left in the third quarter. That inspired head coach Mike Budenholzer’s second timeout in under three minutes.

A 7-0 run from Kevin Durant helped stabilize the Suns back to an 11-point advantage entering the fourth quarter that grew to 15. The Wizards then hit back-to-back 3s on cue, right when it felt like Phoenix was going to be able to coast through the remaining 10 minutes.

That same feeling resurfaced again and Washington kept getting back in it, going on a 14-4 run to make it 113-109 Suns with under two minutes to go. Nick Richards sunk two free throws, and then so did Durant to put it away.

“There’s good spurts of the game and bad spurts,”  Suns guard Devin Booker said. “Think our true tests are coming up this next week.”

Richards had 20 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, the most rebounds by a Sun this season. He had 15 of those in the first half, the fourth time a player has done that this NBA season, per Stathead.

“It’s what we need,” Booker said of Richards. “And he’s giving his all every play on both ends of the floor. Tonight, the numbers showed that. There’s been other nights where the numbers don’t look as crazy but he still had an impact.”

Durant provided 29 points and Bradley Beal added 20 off the bench. Beal took the place of Ryan Dunn to start the second half after an ankle sprain in the first quarter ruled out Dunn.

Saturday marks the unofficial end of the Suns’ cushy portion of the schedule. It felt imperative for Phoenix to take advantage of a lackluster string of matchups in December and January, a stretch that got even easier than it was on paper because of key injuries for some of the better opponents on the slate. And yet, the Suns went 11-13 for it and now sit 23-21, eighth in the Western Conference.

Phoenix has the toughest schedule left in the league. Entering play on Saturday, there were 10 teams in the NBA with less than 20 losses and the Suns will play 19 of their remaining 38 contests against those teams, including 10 against the top five in the standings.

There are three straight games coming up against West teams more or less in its range (Clippers, T-Wolves and Warriors) before a road back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers is the final respite.

Here are some of the rather ridiculous bursts of high-end opposition coming (*represents second game of a back-to-back):

Feb. 5-12: at Oklahoma City, vs. Utah, vs. Denver*, vs. Memphis, at Houston*

March 2-12: vs. Minnesota, vs. LAC, at Denver, at Dallas, at Memphis, at Houston, vs. Sacramento, at LAL

March 21-April 13: vs. Cleveland, vs. Milwaukee, vs. Boston, at Minnesota, vs. Houston, at Milwaukee, at New York, vs. Golden State, vs. Oklahoma City*, vs. San Antonio, at Sacramento

The Lakers contest on March 16 will be 68 games into the year. By then, we will have certified and cemented separation in the standings that will tell us if that brutal 12-game close is more about ensuring a playoff spot, a play-in fate or worse.

This all sounds daunting, but remember that through all the visible issues on the floor last year, the Suns finished the year 35-18, including a lot of wins for a similarly-feared conclusion.

Beal was back after missing three of the last four games due to a left ankle sprain. With that brief one-game return splitting up his time out, that is now seven different gaps in the season he’s been inactive for.

Jusuf Nurkic, the Suns’ starting center last year and for the start of this year, was active for the first time since being out for six games due to the flu and a conditioning ramp-up off that. Nurkic did not play, continuing his recent move out of the rotation. Nurkic told azcentral’s Duane Rankin he and Budenholzer didn’t talk for two months and don’t have a relationship, also saying he won’t pout by bringing further chaos to a team that already has “plenty of it.” Budenholzer denied the lack of contact, noting conversations have taken place.

With Phoenix recently splitting up one first-round pick into three, it surely would ideally like to not have to use them all in a Jimmy Butler deal and save one to attach to Nurkic to add another rotation piece while also getting off the last year of Nurkic’s contract for next season. The Butler part is wishful thinking. Nurkic himself has his doubts, citing the Suns’ flexibility shortcomings with being over the second apron.

After taking 41 3s in a win over Brooklyn, Phoenix got up 40 on Saturday. That is a much-needed return back to numbers north of 35. It’s hard to say how indicative that is of progress given it came against two putrid defensive teams that you can go on auto-pilot with drive-and-kick possessions to generate ’em but it’s a start.

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