Phoenix Suns Hope Landry Shamet's Performance vs Nuggets Wasn't Fluke

Following Landry Shamet's 19 point performance in Game 4, he is starting to gain the trust of his coaches and teammates

The biggest surprise during the Phoenix Suns’ 129-124 Game 4 victory over the Denver Nuggets had to be the performance of Landry Shamet.

Shamet ended the game with 19 points going six-of-nine from the field while hitting five three-pointers. He scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and played a major role in the Suns tying the series at 2-2. 

It's not only offensively where Shamet made an impact, but defensively he played with ferocity - which impressed teammates.

“Man, that intensity he brought on the ball defensively, that takes us to the next level,” Kevin Durant said after Game 4. 

“He worked his ass off on the ball; Jamal Murray is an incredible player. That pick and roll with him and (Nikola) Jokic is almost unstoppable. He just played his tail off, made plays, got back into the plays; him and DA (Deandre Ayton) made some huge plays late for us to get this win. We are going to need that moving forward.”

Shamet’s strong two-way game opened the door for him to play a big role in the rotation and for Monty Williams to trust him late in playoff games.

“It’s two-fold for him, two sides of the ball,” Williams said after game 4. “His defense allows for us to not have to put (Devin) Book on the main guy every possession and then on the other end, the execution versus double teams and him taking and making shots speaks to his mentality, the work he puts in. 

"All NBA players have to, to be in those positions and succeed, but his mentality is something we need. He had a game where he didn’t even play and then to bounce back and have an effect on the game, defensively last game and some offensively and then tonight. His shot making versus their coverage was huge for us.”

Game 5 will be a critical opportunity for the Suns to steal one on the road. Shamet wants to show that his Game 4 performance was no fluke and that he is ready to make more of an impact going forward.

“He can't wait to play again,” Cameron Payne said via Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin. “It feels like he's been trying to get that out for so long, trying to let everybody know he's really hooping. He can hoop. Big shoutout to him.”