Suns Strokes: Phoenix flat, gets flattened by Kings in season opener

First impressions are important.

The first impressions of the Phoenix Suns’ 2016 draft class: They’re going to be alright.

Can the same be said of the rest of the 2016-17 roster? That remains to be seen.

Collectively, the Suns are a work-in-progress, which was to be expected and on display in their season opener, a 113-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in front of 18,055 at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday.

Dragan Bender (fourth overall pick) scored 10 second-half points, Marquese Chriss (eighth overall) went for seven and four rebounds, while Tyler Ulis (32nd overall) had two points.

Those three along with Brandon Knight and Alex Len spurred a 20-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to pull the Suns within 10, 86-76, exciting the crowd that had very little to cheer for up until that point.

The Suns would get no closer, however.

The hole they had dug themselves was too big.

The Suns trailed by 19 at halftime and by as many as 26 in the third quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins (24 points) and Rudy Gay (22) led the Kings’ attack, which finished with 51.2 percent shooting as compared to the Suns’ 46.8 percent.

In addition to Bender, three other Suns players reached double figures in scoring: Devin Booker (18), Eric Bledsoe (16) and T.J. Warren (14).

Tyson Chandler added eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Kings improved to 3-0 against the Suns in season opener, and they have won four straight overall in the series.

THE GOOD

Back-to-back baskets by Bledsoe — the latter a driving layup — handed the Suns their first lead of the game, 12-11, at the 6:52 mark of the first quarter. Three-plus minutes later, the Suns had upped their advantage to 18-14 on the efforts of a 14-5 run with Bledsoe scoring six and Warren four. Warren added three rebounds.

Solid start to Jared Dudley’s return to the Valley. He accounted for the Suns first four points and filled up the stat sheet with four points, one rebound, one assist and one block through the game’s first 12 minutes. Dudley also drew a charge on Cousins, who was forced to leave the game with his second foul at the 6:47 mark.

When Bender entered the game at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter, the Suns became the first team in NBA history to play three teenagers in a single game. Bender, 18, joined 19-year-olds Booker (who turns 20 on Sunday) and Chriss. Bender and Chriss scored their first points as professionals, as did Ulis in the period.

After a slow start, Booker picked up his point production in the fourth quarter with a team-high seven on 3-of-3 shooting. With his performance, he tied Dwight Howard for the fifth-most 15+ point games scored under 20 years old. It was his 36th such game. Booker made 8-of-12 shots, yet missed each of his three 3-pointers.

THE BAD

It wasn’t bad, it was just plain awful how the Suns closed out the first quarter. They went better than three minutes without a field goal, settling for only a Knight free throw as they were outscored 16-1, including a run of 14 straight by the Kings, who carried a 30-19 lead into the second quarter.

On the strength of their strong bench play, the Kings went into halftime with a 57-38 lead, their largest of the game. Garrett Temple had eight, while Willie Cauley-Stein and Ben McLemore added six each to help account for the Kings’ 30 bench points as compared to the Suns’ three, yes three.

Held to five points (one field goal) at halftime, Cousins exploded for 16 in the third quarter, including 10 straight at one point. He shot 5-of-7 from the field and made 6-of-8 free throws. His final points of the period put the Kings up 82-56 at the 2:43 mark, matching their largest lead of the game.

All the Suns’ second-half momentum stopped with a Gay dunk at the 8:40 mark of the fourth quarter. The play ignited a 12-1 Kings run with Gay adding a 3-pointer and 11-foot floating jump shot. Matt Barnes chipped in five points as the Kings went ahead 98-77 with 5:55 remaining in the game.

STAT OF THE GAME

18: The Suns turned the ball over 18 times, including six in the second quarter, when they were outscored 27-19.

HE SAID IT

“We do five-game sets, so this is one game of five at home. Same thing for road, keep everything in perspective,” head coach Earl Watson said. “One thing that is visible is our second unit, and in the first quarter, (a) 16-1 run is unacceptable. Mix in the young guys in the second half, that is our second unit so now our rotation is down.”

NOTED

– The Suns started a five-man lineup with G Eric Bledsoe, G Devin Booker, F T.J. Warren, F Jared Dudley and C Tyson Chandler.

– P.J. Tucker appeared in his 154th straight game, coming off the bench for the first time since a two-game stretch last December.

– Marquese Chriss had his own personal cheering section with his mom, step father, brother and high school coach in attendance.

– The Suns’ roster on opening night included four teenagers, a first in NBA history; in fact, no team has ever had as many as three.

– The Kings played without point guard Darren Collison, who was suspended because of an offseason domestic violence incident.

– Phoenix native and award-winning recording artist Jordin Sparks sang the national anthem as part of the home opener festivities.

UP NEXT

For their second game of the season, the Suns will hit the road.

They travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Suns were swept, losing all three meetings last season, and they have dropped four straight overall in the series.

In the Suns’ last win, in Phoenix on Feb. 26, 2015, Bledsoe and Russell Westbrook became the first opponents in the NBA since Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit in 1961 to each record at least 28 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in a game.

Since the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle, the overall series is 19-9 in the Thunder’s favor.

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