After a slow start to the season, the Phoenix Suns seemed to have turned a corner. Just a few days after losing Jalen Green to an indefinite hamstring injury, they picked up a 23-point victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Led by new their fourth coach in as many years, Jordan Ott, things seem to be off on the right foot. While it’s been Devin Booker carrying the load to this point in the year, they finally got help from a different source.
Grayson Allen made it rain from the opening tip, knocking in 10 triples and amassing a new career-high 42 points.
Let’s get into the details of Phoenix’s third consecutive victory.
Grayson Allen Letting It Fly
When Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets in the offseason, it was expected to open up a lot of opportunities for the Suns returning players. Grayson Allen has taken his opportunity, and absolutely run with it. Allen entered the game with four consecutive games of 4+ triples.
And this time, he had a shooting performance that no player in franchise history ever had. No Phoenix player had ever knocked in more than nine triples in a game. In the early moments of the fourth quarter, the Duke product lit the lamp for the 10th time. The Suns record books have been updated.
There were some impressive names in the 9-make list. Cam Johnson. Channing Frye. Quentin Richardson. Landry Shamet. Aron Baynes. Allen has now eclipsed all of them by one.
To score 42 points in 17 shots is an incredible feat in and of itself. When 15 of those attempts are from downtown, it’s even more impressive. Devin Booker, one of the league’s leading scorers, only had to take 13 shots in a 21-point win. He got to rest for the entire fourth quarter. Royce O’Neale added four long balls of his own.
Jordan Ott has his team playing good basketball, and they’re now 5-1 in their past six games overall.
On the other side, the Pelicans tough start hasn’t been ideal for the franchise. But for their opponents, they have been the team where guys find their rhythm. We may even be witnessing Willie Green’s final days with the squad.
The Last Time Grayson Allen Scored 40 Points
Believe it or not, last night’s game was not the first time Grayson Allen eclipsed the 40-point plateau. It has admittedly been a long time, dating all the way back to his rookie season. April 10, 2019 was the date of the last one. Seven seasons ago.
The final game of the 2018-19 season was a special one for the rookie. His Utah Jazz team defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 143-137 to close out the regular season. Doing this against LA’s regulars makes it a bit even more impressive. Seven years between 40-point games is some feat.
Allen has been considered one of the top three-point shooters in the association for a number of years now. And last night only helped to verify exactly what value he provides to the Suns.
Now that Jalen Green (hamstring) is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, there is a continued opening next to Devin Booker as the number two option. If Allen can continue to shoot the ball as he has of late, this may just be a playoff team after all.
Watch out for this Phoenix team. Those threes just keep falling.
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