Phoenix Suns fall on another ridiculous last-second shot: By the Numbers

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

The Phoenix Suns’ opponent takes a last-second shot. It’s offline but takes a couple crazy bounces and rattles in as time expires.

Yep, that scenario played out for the third time this season thanks to DeMarcus Cousins, as the host Sacramento Kings negated a furious late Suns rally and escaped with an 85-83 victory Sunday night.

The Kings ruined an outstanding fourth quarter by former King Isaiah Thomas, who signed with the Suns in the offseason. Starting in place of Eric Bledsoe, who was absent Sunday to attend the birth of his son, Thomas scored nine consecutive points to pull Phoenix (29-24) even at 81-81 with 2:04 to play. Thomas scored a team-high 26 points for the game.

Markieff Morris briefly atoned for an atrocious shooting night with a jumper to give the Suns an 83-81 advantage and their first lead since 7-6 in the first quarter. But Cousins tied the game on a layup with 57 seconds remaining, and after a Markieff Morris turnaround jump shot was offline, the Kings (18-32) called timeout with 2.5 seconds left to set up just another gut-wrenching moment for Phoenix fans.

Here’s a closer look at how the Suns once again left the court wondering what they did to offend the basketball gods, by the numbers:

2

The Suns had just two players score in double figures Sunday — Thomas and Goran Dragic, who tallied 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

3

Markieff Morris was an awful 3-of-20 from the field Sunday, becoming just the second NBA player this season to attempt 20 or more shots and make three or fewer of them. The Suns shot just 36.3 percent (33-of-91) from the floor for the game.

4

The Suns have suffered four defeats via buzzer-beaters on the season — the most for any team in a single season since the Utah Jazz in 2006-07. The only one of those baskets that didn’t need help from the rim, however, was James Harden’s jumper against the Suns on Jan. 23. Harden and the Rockets return to Phoenix on Tuesday in the Suns’ final game before the All-Star break.

4-18

The Suns… well, let’s just say they don’t finish well. Dating back to last season, they’re 4-18 in games decided by three or fewer points. They went 2-9 in such games last season, and they’re already 2-9 in those situations this season.

6

With the absence of Bledsoe and center Alex Len, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle, rookie T.J. Warren made his presence felt, scoring six points and five rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

12

Miles Plumlee made the most of his time at center in place of Len, grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds. He also scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting in 23 minutes.

28

Including his game-winner, Cousins had his way with the Suns for most of the night, scoring a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds. He went 13-of-25 from the floor.