Welp - my game prediction couldn’t have been more wayward. Jae Crowder’s turnover to begin play was the consummate omen of unfortunate events to come. Phoenix had been playing near-perfect basketball up to this point, but as I mentioned in the preview, Greg Popovich is a living, breathing, hoops savant, and possesses the cryptonite to suppress any Superman-esque display.
1st QTR
Keldon Johnson and Devin Booker traded baskets to open the game’s scoring, and the Suns showed a blatant effort to get Deandre Ayton touches in the post with Jakob Poeltl sidelined. Drew Eubanks and Luka Samanic started in place of Poeltl and Demar Derozan (who were both absent for rest), and it seemed like PHX was going to cruise through the game in the opening minutes.