Devin Booker wills Suns over Magic with clutch 3s, defense

PHOENIX — It had some of the same feels as the last two losses.

An Orlando Magic team down two starters and a key backup visited Talking Stick Resort Arena hoping to prey on the Phoenix Suns’ inconsistency. And with the Suns on a two-game skid that led to a lot of serious in-house conversations and a lineup change that swung the entire rotation, Phoenix scuffled to score when Devin Booker wasn’t making things happen.

The Suns blew a double-digit lead. They turned the ball over and took bad shots late.

Magic center Nikola Vucevic’s three-pointer on a breakdown put Orlando ahead 94-90 with 59 seconds left in the game. That’s when Booker had enough.

He used a screen atop the arc and pulled up to splash a three-pointer coming out of a timeout. The next play, he intercepted a crosscourt pass by Magic point guard Markelle Fultz and pulled up in transition for another three to give the Suns a 96-94 lead with 36 second still on the ticker. Then, Booker switched onto the larger Vucevic and held him in the post long enough for teammate Ricky Rubio to steal the ball, sealing a 98-94 win.

“I was just in the moment,” Booker said after scoring 24 points to go with five assists and three steals, which ended his 30-point game streak at seven. “I know we were down three once Vucevic hit the long two. I wanted to get a quick one. I got a steal, felt the open shot for the two-for-one so I took it and it went in.”

Yep. Booker thought his first three-pointer tied the game at 93-all. But officials who had initially ruled Vucevic’s late three as a two-pointer reversed that call just before the Suns came out of the timeout.

Adding to the ugliness of the night, Booker’s late post defense after his second three irked Magic head coach Steve Clifford.

“It was a foul. I just watched it, it was clearly a foul,” Clifford told reporters. “I don’t care — not even close. He fouled him twice. The second one was a slap and that’s got to be called.

“It’s almost like he was trying to foul him. He fouled him.”

The Suns will take it, no matter how ugly, unfair or lucky.

Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, obviously, was a bit more pleased than his counterpart. He saw too many breakdowns on defense, but he also said the ball moved well. The Suns just didn’t hit open shots, going 42% for the game and hitting just 32% of their threes.

It helped that the Magic shot 37% overall. Against a limited offensive team with few shooters or not, Phoenix played more spirited defense for most of the game.

A change to the starting lineup — moving Deandre Ayton out and Dario Saric in — turned out well early on in the game and then late.

Phoenix (15-23) made the two huge defensive stops with a small-ball unit of Rubio, Booker, Kelly Oubre, Mikal Bridges and Ayton on the court to close it out. Williams said there was thought in the starting lineup change eventually leading to that group finishing the game.

“Try to, but a lot of it is matchup driven,” he said. “If they had gone with two bigs, I think I would have still left Mikal out there because the numbers say our defense is much better when he’s on the floor. His ability to get in passing lanes and switch and use his length, it helps everybody. Sometimes you can run him up there in the pick-and-roll coverage and get to a switch, and you feel fine with him on a point guard.

“His defense for us is timely and much-needed.”

Bridges finished with four points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. He led the team with a +17 plus-minus while only taking three shots.

Ayton joined him first off the bench for another 30 minutes behind starting center Aron Baynes. The 2018 first overall pick produced 13 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks.

“Easing D.A. back into the flow I think is better than just throwing him out there,” Williams said.

“We haven’t had many guys score in double-figures in our second unit in awhile. It is not anything other than making our team better. We need an anchor in that second unit. But make no mistake about it: D.A. is a starter in this league. We just need to integrate him in the right way.”

Phoenix got out to a 7-0 start with Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Saric and Baynes starting but was answered by a 7-0 Orlando spurt. The Suns’ bench units that followed held steady in the first half, and Phoenix stretched the lead to 58-48 by halftime as Booker scored or assisted on the final 18 points of the second quarter.

It was the offense without Booker that didn’t have enough juice to pull away.

Orlando (18-21) erased an 11-point lead with 10:16 left in the third over the course of less than five minutes to take a 69-68 lead with 5:29 to go in the period. Remember: Orlando entered Friday’s game without starting power forward Aaron Gordon, recently injured Jonathan Isaac and playmaking backup point guard D.J. Augustin.

The feeling of another blown opportunity against a less-than-stellar team loomed. A gut-punch was on its way.

Phoenix took it on the chin. Then Booker took the win from the Magic’s grasp.

“It is toughness, mental stamina, the ability to be in those positions and not get as rattled as you normally would be. You are a bit unnerved when you get down four with 58 seconds (left),” Williams said.

“I can sit here and rail on some of our coverages but I am sure (Clifford) could do the same thing … I am not going to do that. I am just proud of the ways our guys battled tonight. Sometimes the effort trumps the scheme.”

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