The Phoenix Suns (29-19) hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers (29-20) at Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday night.
The Suns were coming off an impressive win over the Pistons, but the Cavaliers were riding a five-game win streak.
Phoenix sat seventh in the Western Conference, while Cleveland sat fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the win streak, Cleveland was going to be without Darius Garland (toe) and Evan Mobley (calf).
“He’s on the original timeline,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said regarding Garland’s injury. “I do know that he’s on the court and increasing activities. Still no contact though.”
Mobley led the team in rebounds with an average of 8.8 rebounds per game, and both players were putting up 17 points per game or more.
As for Phoenix, star player Devin Booker (ankle) was still out.
Booker led the team in points and assists, with an average of 25.4 PPG and 6.2 assists per game.
Despite that, Jalen Green, who’d been dealing with a hamstring injury all season, was good to go.
“Just seeing him in a jersey,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “Just happy to get him out there, be a part of this. There are those minutes that we’re always going to be careful of; we’re going to be smart with this. We just want him to be comfortable.”
Green had only played 54 minutes of basketball for the Phoenix Suns this season and was a big piece of the Kevin Durant trade.
As for the rest of the team, Collin Gillespie’s hand injury seemed to be getting better as he wasn’t on the injury report.
Even with the return of Green, however, the Cavaliers would be a tough matchup, as center Jarrett Allen was averaging 13.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG.
“Jay (Allen) is just a soldier,” Ott said regarding Allen. “He never complains about touches; he never complains about minutes. He’s always ready. It’s not a surprise his growth over this course of the season has taken off. He’s such a vital piece to what they do.”
The big star for Cleveland though was Donovan Mitchell, who was averaging 29.4 PPG, leading the team in that department.
“He kind of knows who he is now,” Atkinson said. “I have seen growth from last year. He’s taken on more and that’s been a good thing for us; I encourage it.”
Even then, the Suns had multiple weapons, such as Gillespie, Green, and Grayson Allen.
The big mark was on Dillon Brooks, as he was coming off a career-high, 40-point game against the Pistons.
“I think that’s part of his mindset,” Ott said regarding Brooks. “The way he plays, how physical he is on both ends. Hopefully we can protect him, especially with some of the guys we’ve had out recently. He had to consume an offensive role, he’s all out, all the time.”
Brooks was averaging 21 PPG entering the game.
This was also going to be a bit of a homecoming game for Ott, as he had been the assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers before arriving in Phoenix.
“Jordan (Ott) has done an amazing job,” Atkinson said. “I said it in Cleveland; I’ll say it again. I think they’re the hardest play-in team in the league. That’s just what I see. They play harder than anybody, that’s why they’re having a great season. We better come out, play at a high level, compete at a high level.”
After the first quarter, Phoenix had a one-point lead.
Brooks and Grayson Allen led the way in scoring for the Suns, as both had eight points.
Green was playing with the second unit, and while he only had two points, he had gotten three rebounds.
“Now we have a couple of new ball handlers,” Ott said. “Grayson (Allen) coming back healthy, and now we add Jalen (Green) to the mix, so this is going to be a constant evolution of our team, but specifically our offense over time.”
As for Cleveland, Allen led the way in scoring eight points, alongside grabbing three assists and three rebounds.
Lonzo Ball of the Cavaliers had zero points, but he did grab four rebounds and three assists.
After the first half, the Suns held a 52-47 lead.
Brooks led the way in scoring with 10 points, but the Suns’ bench was doing a lot of work, as Jordan Goodwin had eight points, and Jamaree Bouyea followed with seven.
“Just the movement,” Goodwin said. “I think our defense is getting us out in transition, so we’re getting a lot of buckets where we don’t got to set the offense up.”
As for Cleveland, Allen led the way in scoring with 12 points, with Jaylon Tyson following him with nine points.
Mitchell had gone quiet, having just five points.
“We focused a lot on Donovan (Mitchell),” Ott said. “Sending out multiple bodies, just tremendous energy. Initially, I thought it took us a minute to get us going but our defensive energy was at a high level for most of the night.”
Midway through the third quarter, things got bad for Phoenix, as Green went down after going for a rebound, and he didn’t get up.
Considering his recent injury history, things looked bad.
“Scary fall,” Goodwin said. “Definitely scared me on that fall but he’s going to be good. I’m happy he got this game under his belt, just got to keep him healthy, keep him going, so we just got to get him in rhythm.”
However, one possession later, Green was checked back into the game, and the crowd applauded him.
“It was the hip,” Ott said regarding Green. “It was just a fall. Everyone saw it. Probably will be a little sore tomorrow.”
One minute later, Green hit a three to give the Suns a 77-60 lead, and the crowd went wild as Cleveland took a timeout.
Late in the third, Nae’Qwan Tomlin bumped Brooks twice, and it clearly agitated Brooks, but Oso Ighodaro pulled Brooks away as he got up to avoid any technical fouls.
Brooks had gotten 14 technical fouls throughout the season, and 16 technical fouls results in an automatic one-game suspension.
The play went under review for a possible flagrant foul or hostile act.
After the review, the referees deemed that there were two hostile acts; Brooks was given a flopping technical foul, while Tomlin was given a defensive foul.
Despite that, the Suns had a 97-79 lead entering the fourth and were looking to wrap up the game.
“Everybody giving more effort,” Goodwin said. “Everybody just keep putting pressure on the ball. It didn’t feel like we was on a back-to-back tonight with our energy. My main thing is just try to get our crowd into it. Once our crowd gets into it, the arena gets so loud and we feed off that energy.”
Mitchell exploded, as him and Tyson led the way in scoring with 16 points, while Allen followed with 12 points and seven rebounds.
As for Phoenix, Brooks led the way in scoring with 27 points, while Allen trailed with 13 points.
Mark Williams was looking for a double-double, as he had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Early in the fourth quarter, Atkinson got his second technical foul and was ejected.
Cleveland tried mounting a comeback, but the Suns proved that the lead they built was too much, grabbing a 126-113 victory.
“We try to take it one game at a time,” Ott said. “For us to come out like that, on a second night of a back-to-back against a really good team, that’s growth. That’s growth, that’s leadership, that’s who we want to be.”
Brooks finished with 27 points, with Goodwin trailing him with 17 points.
“Just having the confidence,” Goodwin said. “Definitely gave me a little bit more, gave me more confidence to take them shots as well.”
Green’s return saw him finish with 11 points, four rebounds, and one assist.
“Just great to have him out there,” Ott said. “Just another threat on top of everyone else that we have. His ability to shoot, space, and his ability to create plays. Just love seeing him out there.”
As for Cleveland, with De’Andre Hunter finishing with 17 points, while Mitchell finished with 16 points alongside Tyson.
“Just trying to get the shot clock down,” Goodwin said. “Just get extra possessions for our team. It’s not just me either, I got bigs behind me. It’s really a team effort, but I’m just trying to make it difficult for everybody.”
A big reason for their win was the three ball, as they went 48% from downtown, shooting 23-for-48, a new season-high for the team.
The Suns jump to 30-19 while the Cavaliers fall to 29-21.
The Suns will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
