Increasing their winning streak to seven straight, the Phoenix Suns bested the Miami Heat by a final score of 110-100 on Tuesday night.
Game Recap – First Half
Early on in the first quarter, it seemed as if the Heat could find no answer for Suns guard Devin Booker. It was a highly contested game from there on out in the quarter as the two teams exchanged leads. At the end of the quarter, it was only a five point game, with the Suns up 25-20. A huge part of the Suns’ lead came from the overall performance of Deandre Ayton, who had six points in the first quarter. He went on to score 17 points along with 16 rebounds in the game.
Going into the second quarter, the Heat immediately tried to slow down the Suns offense. This did not work, however, as Phoenix led by 15 headed into the second half.
Game Recap – Second Half
Right away, the Suns hit the gas pedal and their lead swelled to 22 points early in the third. However, later on, the Heat started to rally and ended the quarter on a 13-3 run which put the Suns lead at 12.
A big part of this late push came from Kendrick Nunn, who finished the game with 25 points. However, it wasn’t enough as Jimmy Butler couldn’t get it going. He ended with just 14 points, but did get 11 rebounds in the 110-100 loss.
“We’ll keep plugging away until we find the right solutions,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re certainly better than what we’ve shown over the last four games on the offensive end.”
What’s Next for the Heat?
Miami will face Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night at 7:30 PM EST. The Heat could be active before Thursday’s game, with the 3:00 PM trade deadline coming up on Thursday.