Suns collapse late, squander huge lead vs Hawks

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00:00Let me break down this game for you, because it's a perfect example of how basketball can

00:05punish you just as quickly as it rewards you. This is the story of the Phoenix Suns' brutal

00:10124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Let's set the scene. The Phoenix Suns, who now have an 8-6

00:17record, were in a fantastic position. They were up by 21 points early in the fourth quarter.

00:23This huge lead came after a fantastic 15.0 run to finish the third quarter,

00:27a run that took only 2 minutes and 37 seconds, and all of it happened without their star,

00:33Devin Booker. The Suns were playing with a sense of urgency, hustling incredibly hard on most

00:37possessions, to fight through a period of poor shooting and, once again, win the battle for

00:42extra possessions. The highlight of this effort was a fantastic play late in the third quarter by

00:47Colin Gillespie, who saved the ball right to his teammate Jordan Goodwin. Later, when Goodwin

00:52scored a basket with 8-133 left in the game. Renancians Jus Tronders. Stoach still held that

01:0421-point advantage, and this is where things shifted. They got comfortable, a little too

01:09comfortable. They took their foot off the gas. The Atlanta Hawks, now 9-6, capitalized immediately.

01:14They scored 6 quick points. Because the Suns lost focus on both offense and defense,

01:19This prompted an immediate timeout from the Suns coach, a move that has become a signature for

01:24Jordan Ott. But that timeout didn't stop the bleeding. Atlanta's momentum started to build

01:29rapidly and snowballed into a massive 47.4th quarter for them. After the game, Coach Ott said,

01:36I thought overall in the fourth, we lost our way at different points. At that point, you just gotta

01:41regain your composure, execute a little bit offensively, and then just get one stop,

01:46and then the snowball goes the other way. Let me show you how fast it unraveled.

01:50On the Hawks' next three possessions after the timeout, they forced a turnover leading to a fast

01:56break dunk, drew a technical foul for a free point, nailed a three-pointer off an offensive rebound,

02:02and then hit another three-pointer after grabbing a missed shot. Just like that. With 5-39 remaining,

02:08the score was 107,101. The Hawks had matched the Suns' earlier 15-coin run. Phoenix seemed stuck in

02:17a daze. They couldn't get connected on defense and kept missing shots on offense. Devin Booker had a

02:23particularly rough fourth quarter, missing crucial shots when the team desperately needed someone to

02:28steady the ship. Atlanta kept the pressure on. Dyson Daniels got another offensive rebound with a tipback.

02:33He was also responsible for the previous two rebounds that led to three-pointers. Then,

02:38Dylan Brooks, who had been the Suns' main guy for the first three quarters, tried to force a drive to

02:43the basket, but missed on a wild, out-of-control play. This allowed the Hawks to run the floor and

02:49get a score and a foul and and one from Nikhil Alexander-Walker. Booker briefly seemed to find

02:55his rhythm, scoring five straight points, but then he took a quick heat-check three-pointer after a steal,

03:01and it didn't fall. Right after that, the Hawks executed a beautiful possession that ended with

03:06a four-point play from Alexander-Walker. To their credit, Brooks and Booker then scored to stop

03:12Atlanta from taking the lead, keeping the Suns ahead by three points. But then, Booker missed a

03:17very easy shot right at the rim after a Hawks miss. That was a crucial miss on a potential dagger shot,

03:23because by that point, Atlanta's offense was flowing perfectly. The Hawks then put together a

03:28gorgeous sequence of passes to set up an Alexander-Walker floater. On the next play,

03:33Brooks committed an offensive foul, and then the Hawks finished a clean lob to finally take the

03:37lead with 1.16 left on the clock. Brooks managed to score again, but Atlanta answered right back,

03:43with Phoenix down by one point and 44 seconds to go. They kept trying to attack a mismatch for Booker,

03:49but the play broke down. This forced Colin Gillespie to try to score on the Defensive Player of the Year

03:55nominee, Dyson Daniels. That possession ended in a stop for the Hawks, and some free-throw

04:00situations from there ultimately sealed the Suns' loss. Reflecting on the game, Coach Ott said,

04:06Great third quarter, fourth quarter wasn't. I think some of these are great lessons learned,

04:11but you do have to look at the film of what exactly went down. Now, we also have to talk about

04:17the Suns' injury situation. Grayson Allen, who is listed as day-to-day with a right-quad

04:22contusion was out. His absence, presented the biggest challenge so far for the Suns' offense,

04:28and they really struggled without him on Sunday. The Suns have managed without Jalen Green for most

04:33of the year, and in short stretches without Brooks, but, what Grayson Allen does is different.

04:38As an extremely high-volume three-point shooter and a consistent driver, he has easily been the

04:44second most impactful offensive weapon after Booker this year. The positive effect he has in those

04:49two areas is so significant that it reaches a level we didn't think anyone but Booker could

04:54hit this season. Let's look at the numbers from this game. Phoenix only attempted 33-pointers,

05:00making 10 for a 33.3% success rate. They had 23 assists but committed 17 turnovers, which gives

05:06them a 1.35 assist, 2-ought turnover ratio. This stat is telling. When that ratio is below 1-5,

05:13the Suns' record is 1 win and 5 losses. When it's above 1-5, they are 7 wins and 1 loss.

05:22Devin Booker finished with 7 assists and 5 turnovers. It was a night where he easily could

05:27have had a dozen assists if his teammates had made their shots. But even when he was making the

05:31right plays, the offense didn't have a great rhythm. He shot 10 for 23 from the field for 27 points and was

05:380 for 6 from the 3-point line. Atlanta's team athleticism and length caused him significant

05:43problems when he was trying to initiate the offense. Dylan Brooks was the leader on offense,

05:49scoring 34 points on 14 of 25 shooting, with 16 of those points coming in that strong third quarter.

05:56However, both he and Booker were part of the defensive problems, especially in the fourth quarter,

06:03and neither could get the offense properly organized when it mattered. Now, we have to

06:08address the technical foul. It was called on Dylan Brooks. After the officials stopped the play because

06:15Hawks forward Zachary Rissacher was injured, here's what happened. On a fast break dunk, Rissacher was

06:22moving so fast that he lost his grip on the rim. The result was terrifying. His feet went out from

06:28under him and he flipped backwards, landing hard on his side. The replay shows everyone on the Suns

06:34visibly reacting with concern, including the players on the court, before they realized the

06:40referees had not stopped play. Frustratingly, no whistle was blown for roughly three seconds after

06:46Rissacher had landed. The Suns actually inbounded the ball and were looking to score in a 5-on-4 situation

06:53for a full five seconds. Before the officials realized their error and finally stopped the play,

06:58no foul was called on Atlanta for the incident. While Hawks staff and players rushed over to check

07:04on Rissacher, Dylan Brooks let the referees have it for the late and confusing stoppage, which earned

07:10him the technical foul. Brooks was still very upset about it after the game. When he was asked a general

07:15question about what he saw happen in the fourth quarter, he went straight to criticizing the officials.

07:20I seen us playing seven against five, he said. Emotional refs, they're making calls out of emotion

07:26and smirking while they're making the calls, that should be reviewed. Brooks explained that he

07:31understood the situation, but wanted the referees to show more urgency. If that's a serious play,

07:37then hold it dead right there and then, he said. That's outrageous. And then when you want to tell them

07:43what's wrong, you're going to have to take it. You're a ref. And then you want to control the game

07:47the whole game. Give calls, for other team, and then not call it on the other side. Missed calls

07:54at that. That changes the whole game. He also criticized other missed calls that should have

08:00gone to Devin Booker. Three refs miss it?

08:06Expletive. We might have to add a fourth ref if that's going on. It's just bad energy. I don't know

08:11who has to look at it. Joey Crawford, Adam Silver, because that's not it. For context,

08:17Joey Crawford, a former longtime referee, now helps the NBA oversee the officials, while Adam Silver is

08:23the commissioner of the league. On a more positive note for the Suns, Colin Gillespie was tremendous

08:29once again off the bench, contributing 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jordan Goodwin also had

08:36another strong game, adding 14 points and 7 rebounds. As for the Hawks, they are now 8,2 in

08:43games without Trae Young, if you include the first victory where Young only played 7 minutes. They

08:50look like a completely legitimate team without him. Jalen Johnson continues his rise as an all-star

08:55candidate, with his latest impressive performance being 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting, 10 rebounds,

09:027 assists, and 5 turnovers. Nikhil Alexander, Walker's experience in big games was all over

09:09that final quarter, where he scored 16 of his total 26 points, and their starting center,

09:15Onyeka Okongwu, who was in for the injured Kristaps Porzingis, made a huge contribution with 27 points,

09:222 steals, and 2 blocks. So, what is the reason for all this?

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