At 21.2 seconds, Phoenix’s lead had shrunk to 97-95, and a game the Suns once led by 17 had become small enough to turn on one bad possession. Miles Bridges then made two free throws, Devin Booker made two more after a steal, and Phoenix escaped Charlotte 101-96 Thursday night.
The finish required Booker’s second act because his first had left too much unfinished. He scored 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, made 4 of 8 3-pointers, handed out seven assists, collected three steals and blocked one shot. That is a substantial night by any standard. It still took his late intervention to keep the Hornets from turning Phoenix’s control into another irritating close call.
Charlotte owned the glass, 52-31. The Hornets grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, compared with nine for Phoenix, and that imbalance kept supplying extra opportunities when the Suns’ initial defense had done enough. Charlotte shot 33 of 80 overall, hardly an offensive avalanche, yet remained within reach deep into the fourth quarter because missed shots did not always end its possessions.
Phoenix’s answer was less glamorous and more important for this particular game: it did not give the ball away. The Suns committed eight turnovers. Charlotte committed 27. A team can survive being outrebounded when it avoids handing its opponent another route to the basket, and Phoenix made Charlotte earn far more of its offense than the rebounding numbers alone might suggest.
That discipline mattered because the Suns were hardly flawless as shooters. They finished 38 of 92 from the field and 13 of 43 from 3-point range. Jalen Green scored 12 points while going 3 of 9, and Luke Kennard had eight points on 4-of-9 shooting without making any of his five attempts from beyond the arc.
Phoenix won without getting a clean contribution from every perimeter option.
Oso Ighodaro supplied the connective work. He scored only two points, but produced seven assists without a turnover. In the fourth quarter, his passes set up Booker’s 19-foot fadeaway at 4:20, which made the score 89-86, and Booker’s 7-foot driving floater at 1:00, which put Phoenix ahead 94-89.
Ighodaro did not need to become a scorer to influence the ending; he helped get the ball to the player most capable of deciding it.
Booker’s late 3 was the clearest example. After Moussa Diabate’s layup cut Phoenix’s advantage to 94-91 with 42.2 seconds left, Booker hit a 28-foot step-back 3 at 23.8 seconds for a 97-91 lead. Charlotte answered immediately.
