PHOENIX, ARI- Coursey of the fantastic two-way play of shooting guard Josh Okogie, including a game-saving block on superstar power forward Paolo Banchero, the Phoenix Suns (38-32, 3rd in West) narrowly defeated the Orlando Magic (28-42, 13th in East) 116-113 on Thursday, March 16th, at the Footprint Center. Entering the fourth quarter with a nine-point deficit (85-94 PHX), Orlando went on a 15-7 scoring run to tie the game at 101 with 5:52 remaining. From there, Orlando and Phoenix traded baskets for the next five minutes, where the Suns lead 114-113 with 8.1 seconds left.
After former Orlando veteran wing Terrence Ross made both free-throw attempts to expand the lead to three points, the Magic needed a three-pointer to force overtime, and only had six seconds to do so. While being tightly defended by Suns point guard Chris Paul, Magic point guard Markelle Fultz managed to pass the basketball to star small forward Franz Wagner, who quickly gave it to Banchero. From 28 feet out, Banchero got the game-tying three-point shot off, only for it to be deflected by Okogie, giving Phoenix a stunning 116-113 win over Orlando.
“I kind of read it and didn’t think it was a good situation to foul him,” Okogie said. “I anticipated the shot. Thank God I didn’t foul him.”
In addition to his game-winning deflection, Okogie was excellent for Phoenix in his 14th start of the 2022-2023 season. In 30 minutes, Okogie recorded 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 4-14 (28.5%%) shooting from the field and 5-5 (100.0%) from the free-throw line. Similarly, Okogie notched a game-high three steals and three blocks, none bigger than the swat on Banchero.
“I’m just glad we were able to make enough plays to pull out a win. (Okogie) making plays like he has all year long when he has been able to play,” Suns’ head coach Monty Williams said. “We are thinking foul but they swung it quickly. To be able to make a play like that at the end is huge for us.”
Outside of Okogie, four other Suns scored double-digit points on Thursday night: 2022 All-NBA First Team selection Devin Booker paced Phoenix with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds on 7-17 (41.2%) shooting; Sixth-man guard Cameron Payne finished with 18 points, five assists and one steal on 7-12 (58.3%) shooting, including a team-best 3-5 (60.0%) mark from three-point range; Star center Deandre Ayton posted 16 points and seven rebounds on 6-12 (50.0%) shooting, while Paul added 16 points, seven assists, and two steals.
Although the remainder of Phoenix’s ten-man rotation failed to score in double-figures versus Orlando, the Suns’ entire roster played well even without Kevin Durant active. For reference, shooting guard Damion Lee (5/1/0), small forward Ish Wainwright (3/5/3), center Jock Landale (8/3/2), and Ross (7/1/0) all played key roles in Phoenix’s offense, which shot 43-90 (47.7%) from the field, 13-35 (37.1%) from three-point range, and 17-17 (100.0%) from the free-throw line.
Although Banchero was unable to extend Thursday’s game into overtime, the 2022 No. 1 draft pick played well against Phoenix, recording 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 7-15 (46.6%) shooting in 34 minutes. In 63 starts this season, Banchero is averaging 33.8 MPG, 20.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 0.9 BPG on 42.5% shooting from the field, 28.6% from three-point range, and 74.6% from the free throw line. As a result, Banchero has been named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in December, January, and February, and remains the frontrunner to win the 2023 Rookie of the Year award.
It’s worth noting that Banchero wasn’t the only player for Orlando that finished with respectable stat lines. First, Fultz provided one of his performances of the 2022-2023 season, recording a team-high 25 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, and two steals on 11-17 (64.7%) shooting in 34 minutes. Meanwhile, Wagner posted 16 points, ten rebounds, and two assists on 7-15 (46.6%) shooting in 35 minutes. Alongside Wagner and Banchero, center Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 7-11 (63.6%) shooting, including a team-high two three-pointers. Finally, point guard Cole Anthony added 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists off the bench.
“We stayed composed, tried to keep pushing the pace and get the shots that we wanted,” Fultz said. “We made it a close game, but we had turnovers (19 TOs) and I had a few silly fouls. There were multiple plays that added up to us losing the game.”
Following their loss to Phoenix on Thursday night, Orlando will look to snap their two-game losing streak as they travel to the crypto.com arena to play the streaking Los Angeles Clippers (37-33, 5th in West) on Saturday, March 18th, at 3:00 PM ET. Meanwhile, Phoenix will begin their three-game road trip on Sunday, March 19th, as they are set to match up against the Oklahoma City Thunder (34-36, 10th in West) at the Paycom Center.