Suns Blow 22-Point Lead, Lose Again Despite 40 From Kevin Durant

The Phoenix Suns were projected to be one of the top teams in the NBA for the 2023-24 season. They were boasting the league’s newest “big 3”, which gave them one of the most talented starting lineups in the Western Conference. But things haven’t gone as planned over the first two months, and Phoenix is in danger of falling out of the playoff picture altogether.

Suns Have Now Lost 7 Of Their Last 10 Games

Suns duo tonight:

Durant — Booker —
40 PTS 26 PTS
5 AST 7 AST
4 REB 3 REB

Heartbreaker. pic.twitter.com/YJRtTOZkTq

— Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) December 20, 2023

The big three for the Suns hasn’t been much of either in the way of “big” or “three”. The newly acquired Bradley Beal has only appeared in 6 contests while dealing with various injuries, and Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have combined to miss 13 games themselves. Things weren’t too bad for the team until Thanksgiving rolled around, as they went 11-6 in their first 17.

But things have gone downhill since. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers, the Suns had lost six of their last nine games to drop all the way to 10th place in the West, two games ahead of the Warriors, who are currently the first team out.

Their “lead” is now one game. The Suns blew a 22-point second quarter lead to the second-worst team in the West, and wound up losing by a final score of 109–104. Durant dropped 40 and Booker added 26, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Portland’s balanced attack that featured 42 points off the bench. Beal missed the game with an ankle injury.

Warriors Threatening The 10th And Final Spot

DUBS WIN pic.twitter.com/DL4la1CEM8

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 20, 2023

To add salt to the wound, the Warriors made up ground in the standings by overcoming a big Celtics lead and a 5.5 point underdog status to win in overtime. They are still a full game behind the Suns for the 10th spot, but that could change before Christmas if Phoenix doesn’t start stringing together some victories.

Things won’t get any easier for the Suns over the next week, as their next three games are against teams that are currently ahead of them in the standings in the West. They’ll play against the Kings on Friday night in their next contest.