LaMelo Ball’s Effort In Vain As Suns Beat Hornets in a Close Win

The Phoenix Suns (19-19) defeated the Charlotte Hornets (8-28) 120-113 at Footprint Center on Sunday night, extending their winning streak to three games.

Phoenix exacted revenge for Tuesday night’s 115-104 defeat at Charlotte. After games against the Lakers and Clippers were postponed because of the wildfires in Los Angeles, the Hornets have not played since this first game.

Apart from Jusuf Nurkic, who tested positive for the virus this morning, the Suns came into tonight’s game fully healthy, with Royce O’Neale (9 points, 4 rebounds) returning from a six-game absence due to an ankle injury.

This game came down to the last second of a back-to-back, as Phoenix rallied from a 12-point deficit. The Suns’ top scorers were Devin Booker (30 points on 10–20 FG, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) and Kevin Durant (27 points on 11–24 FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists).

LaMelo Ball couldn’t drag the Hornets to a win

Oso Ighodaro scored eight of his ten points in the fourth quarter, while Bradley Beal (15 points, six assists) had a strong first quarter. Bench points were won by the Suns 47–22.

After playing 13 minutes off the bench in the first half, scoring 13 points on 4 of 7 shots and dishing out two steals, Grayson Allen unfortunately exited the Suns due to left knee pain at halftime. With 16 rebounds and 24 points (9–12 FG), Mark Williams had an incredible game for Charlotte. Charlotte was led by LaMelo Ball, who finished with 25 points and 11 assists.

Phoenix won the points off turnovers 26-10, which turned out to be a crucial decisive factor in the end, even though the Hornets outnumbered the Suns 52-39.

The Suns had 24 points in the third quarter from Booker and Durant combined, but Charlotte shot 60% from the field at that time to lead 98-93 going into the fourth.

Phoenix started the fourth quarter poorly, making just one of its first six-point tries. But after a Durant shot with 3:07 remaining, the Suns tightened their defense and eventually took a 111-110 lead. The Suns won the last quarter 27-15, and Royce O’Neale sealed the victory with a corner 3-pointer with 40.7 seconds remaining, making it 118-113 Suns.

The Suns take on the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night to start a five-game road trip.

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