The Phoenix Suns just may be onto something here when it really, really matters.
The Suns (35-37) won their fourth straight game, 108-106, over the Milwaukee Bucks Monday at PHX Arena to mark their longest win streak since their 8-1 start to the season.
Devin Booker hit the game-winner with 2.4 seconds left. Brook Lopez missed a potential game-tying jumper as time expired. He finished with 19 points.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 38 points after a 42-point effort in Friday’s upset over Cleveland and being named Western Conference Player of the Week.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (40-31) with 31 points and 10 rebounds.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Phoenix maintains the 10th seed and final play-in spot after Dallas (35-37) beat Brooklyn in Anthony Davis’ return from injury. Phoenix owns the tiebreaker over the Mavericks.
The Suns remained without Bradley Beal, who missed a fourth straight game with a left hamstring strain, while Damian Lillard (calf) was sidelined for the Bucks.
Dunn dunks over Antetokounmpo, Suns lead going into 4th
Ryan Dunn put Giannis Antetokounmpo on blast with a one-handed transition dunk over the two-time MVP in helping Phoenix take an 81-78 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Fouled on the play, the rookie missed the ensuing free throw, but he rebounded his own miss and scored, giving Phoenix its biggest lead of the game of three points, 70-67, with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
The Suns committed just one turnover in the third quarter and it didn’t result in points for the Bucks. Phoenix coughed up 10 which led to 19 Milwaukee points earlier in the game.
Kevin Durant is up to 29 points, scoring 13 in the third quarter. Booker remains at 15 points while Nick Richards has a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 24 points.
Turnovers dooming Suns again, trail Bucks at half
The Phoenix Suns trail 58-54 at the half as they’ve already allowed 19 points off 10 turnovers.
The Suns are looking to win a fourth consecutive game for the first time since their 8-1 start to the 2024-25 season when they won a season-high seven straight games.
Kevin Durant leads the Suns with 16 points while Devin Booker has 15. Giannis Antetokounmpo has 15 points to pace the Bucks and Brook Lopez is on the board with 13.
Phoenix is currently 11th in the West as Dallas (35-37) topped Brooklyn earlier Monday in Anthony Davis’ return from injury. The Suns (34-37) own the tiebreaker over the Mavericks.
Antetokounmpo 10 points, Durant 11 as Suns trail by five after 1st
Phoenix Suns trailed by as many as eight in the first quarter and are down 30-25 at the end of the first quarter.
The Suns looked to double Giannis Antetokounmpo early, forcing others to beat them, but the two-time MVP found ways to score, totaling 10 points.
Kevin Durant leads the Suns with a game-high 11 points.
Grayson Allen (foot) and Mason Plumlee (quad) returned from injury after missing multiple games but didn’t play in the first quarter.
Coach Mike Budenholzer instead went with Cody Martin, Royce O’Neale, Oso Ighodaro and Tyus Jones as his four subs off the bench in the quarter.
Suns injury update, starting lineup
Bradley Beal remains out with a left hamstring strain as he’ll miss a fourth straight game. Budenholzer said Beal is making progress, but wouldn’t provide a timetable on his return.
Grayson Allen is returning from a left foot strain after missing six games. Allen talked about the injury after Monday’s morning shootaround, saying he took longer than expected to return as he felt it happened March 9 against Dallas in the first of a back-to-back.
He played the second of a back-to-back at Memphis, hasn’t played since, but he’s available Monday.
Suns bigs Nick Richards and Mason Plumlee are also available after being listed as probable. Richards was a late scratch from Friday’s game after experiencing right calf tightness in a pregame workout.
Plumlee returns after sitting two games with a left quad strain. Plumlee talked after Monday’s shootaround as well, saying he’ll be ready “if” the Suns need him.
Budenholzer has been playing rookie Oso Ighodaro as a backup big in Plumlee’s absence and started for Richards in Phoenix’s big win over Cleveland. He played a career-high 44 minutes and grabbed 13 rebounds, which was also a career high.
The Suns are starting Collin Gillespie for a fourth straight game as the Suns have won the previous three. The two-way point guard is in the lineup with Devin Booker, rookie Ryan Dunn, Kevin Durant and Richards.
So, will Ighodaro and Plumlee both play or will Budenholzer go with just Ighodaro as the backup big as he likes a eight to nine-man rotation.
The Bucks are down Damian Lillard (right calf soreness), but still have two-time NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be facing Budenholzer for the first time since the firing.
Ryan Rollins, Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez are in Milwaukee’s starting lineup along with Antetokounmpo.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
