Phoenix Left Dillon Brooks’ Efficient Night Short of Possessions

Dillon Brooks gave the Phoenix Suns 24 points on 7-for-9 shooting Wednesday night. Five turnovers from Brooks helped give those points less influence than they deserved.

Phoenix lost 124-117 to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, a preseason result that matters chiefly as a possession audit. The Suns produced enough individual scoring to build a 15-point lead and enough collective sloppiness to lose it. Devin Booker’s 0-for-8 performance from 3-point range made every empty trip more costly.

Brooks’ line was excellent in the ways a box score usually celebrates: 24 points, three 3-pointers in five attempts and seven free throws on eight attempts. His five giveaways sit in the same line, however, and they matter because Phoenix needed his efficiency to offset Booker’s rough shooting night. Production and ball security arrived together as the central tension of the game.

Booker finished with 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting, added five free throws on six attempts and had two turnovers. Jalen Green scored 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting while committing four turnovers. Those three players combined for 11 giveaways, or more than two-fifths of Phoenix’s 26.

That points toward preparation rather than a character verdict. An exhibition game uses changing combinations and uneven minutes, and Booker’s shooting line belongs to one night. The practical work is easier to identify: cleaner decisions from the main handlers, passes made before pressure turns an ordinary action into a scramble, and fewer possessions ending before Phoenix can put its scorers in position.

Chicago supplied an important counterweight. The Bulls committed 24 turnovers themselves, so Phoenix was hardly dealing with a flawless opponent. Josh Giddey posted seven assists against two turnovers, Dailyn Swain had six assists, and Chicago received 14 points from Leonard Miller in 14 minutes.

Tobe Awaka added 14 points and 11 rebounds, though his three turnovers showed that Chicago’s ball control had plenty of rough edges too.

Phoenix’s first quarter explained the appeal of its offensive talent. The Suns scored 40 points, compared with Chicago’s 29, and eventually led by 15. Phoenix finished with 25 assists and shot 26-for-34 at the foul line. The offense could generate points in bunches. Its difficulty was keeping enough possessions intact for that advantage to matter over four quarters.

The late stretch supplied a compact example. With 3:23 remaining, Chicago led 111-108 when Jamaree Bouyea threw a bad pass that Awaka stole. Chicago then missed a running layup, Phoenix missed a 26-foot pull-up, and the Bulls moved on.

At 2:35, Bouyea was charged with an offensive foul. Awaka scored on a driving layup at 2:25, and Caleb Wilson followed with a basket at 2:06 to make the margin 117-108.

Phoenix survived the initial Chicago miss but failed to score on its own chance. The later offensive foul gave the Bulls another opportunity. Those minutes show how quickly a close game can tilt when Phoenix fails to convert its chances and then gives away another trip.

The issue was cumulative rather than theatrical. Basketball is often less interested in the spectacular mistake than in the three ordinary ones that surround it.

Phoenix found one last scoring burst. Ryan Dunn’s driving layup cut the deficit to 119-114 with 24.5 seconds left. Pat Spencer’s 25-foot 3-pointer made it 121-117 with 4.3 seconds remaining.

Leonard Miller answered with a layup at 0.7 seconds, and Miller’s free throw completed the scoring. The Suns had enough offense to stay near the game; they had already spent too many possessions asking it to rescue them.

The counterpoint remains substantial. One 0-for-8 night does not forecast Booker’s season, Brooks showed real efficiency, and Phoenix recorded 14 steals. The rotations were also preseason rotations, making broad conclusions premature. Still, the giveaways are concrete enough to demand attention without turning them into a personality diagnosis.

For Phoenix, the next evaluation should begin with possession criteria: who makes the early read, whether the pass reaches its intended target, and how often the Suns finish an action with a shot or free throws. That would put Phoenix’s shooting talent to more useful work. On this night, too many of them disappeared before the shot ever arrived.

Sources

Bright Side of the Sun: Wednesday Chicago preseason report

ESPN: game box score and play-by-play