Phoenix Suns pick up 1st win of summer league vs. Thunder

Jul 17, 2024, 7:10 PM

Suns reporter, ArizonaSports.com editor

The Phoenix Suns pulled out their first win of summer league on Wednesday in a 100-99 final over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This was a good opportunity for the regular Suns group to pick up their first win against a Thunder crew playing other parts of their roster. OKC played three games in the Utah Summer League prior to Las Vegas, so draft picks like Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell didn’t play.

David Roddy was on a roller coaster in this one. He knocked down two 3s in the opening minutes, continuing his momentum from the second half of Tuesday’s win after he had massively struggled in the opener. But then the turnovers off the bounce started to pop up again, canceling out some of his positives in the drive-and-kick game.

Despite that, Roddy kept making plays and ended up with a productive 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. He made all three of his free throws with under a second remaining in order for Phoenix to win this one after making a game-tying triple just a bit earlier.

Point guard Boo Buie shook off two bad shooting performances to show some of his promise on Wednesday with 16 points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Phoenix signed Buie to an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning the Suns retain his rights past summer league and through training camp. It was with good reason, as Buie was a tremendous player at Northwestern for five years.

In the age of the transfer portal, Buie after his third season was looking at a group that was admittedly heading in a rebuilding direction after some key players already transferred. Buie decided to stick it out and led Northwestern to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for a program that had a total of one prior.

He’s a microwave scorer that can get it going at any minute. He missed his first three shots before getting hot.

Boo Buie from DEEP to tie the game 🎯

PHX-OKC on NBA TV | #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/37wT7h5rgj

— NBA (@NBA) July 18, 2024

First-round pick Ryan Dunn contributed five points and three rebounds in 26 minutes.

Dunn got his first 3 to go of summer league in the third quarter, showing a good level of decisiveness after he was hesitating earlier in the game. He was strangely a step off on defense in the first half before looking like himself later, including two great blocks.

Dunn Denial 🚫 pic.twitter.com/sDjxmJ62pC

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 18, 2024

Jalen Bridges continued to be reliable with catch-and-shoot 3s, hitting a trio of ’em on Wednesday for 11 points while making a few plays on defense here and there as well.