Suns Avoid Collapse, Defeat Raptors
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns flirted with disaster a handful of times in the second half, though they ultimately defeated the Toronto Raptors 120-113 to emerge to 37-26 on the season.
They're now 4-4 out of the All-Star break and have evened the season series at 1-1 after dropping their first game to Toronto earlier in the year.
The Suns emerged to a 38-25 lead after a 21-point effort from Grayson Allen, who made seven-of-eight three-pointers (which were all of his shot attempts). Toronto shot a mere 9-25 from the field.
Phoenix maintained a 67-53 lead into the locker room with Nurkic ending the first half with 12 rebounds. Besides Allen's 26 points, Kevin Durant (11) was the only other player in double-digit scoring for Phoenix. Gary Trent Jr. led the Raptors in scoring with 16 while the Suns led Toronto in second-chance points 15-0.
The Raptors came out of the gates in the second half and drew Phoenix's lead down to three before the Suns eventually scraped their way to an 89-82 advantage heading into the final quarter of action. Durant scored 16 points to keep Phoenix afloat while Beal was the only other teammate to score in the third.
With Durant on the bench, the Suns opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to push their lead back to double digits. The Raptors didn't roll over - however - constantly drawing Phoenix's advantage to around seven points late in the contest before the final buzzer sounded.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
KEVIN DURANT - 35 PTS/3 REB/1 AST/2 STL
GRAYSON ALLEN - 26 PTS/3 REB/3 AST/1 BLK
BRADLEY BEAL - 20 PTS/2 REB/8 AST/1 STL/1 BLK
GARY TRENT JR. - 30 PTS/3 REB
WHAT'S NEXT
The Suns are back in action Saturday when they host the Boston Celtics.
