The current Clutch Player of the Year had an opportunity to secure victory and a probable 7-8 play-in match for the Sacramento Kings. Devin Booker locked him up instead in order to steal a victory.
FOR. THE. WIN.
GOT THE DEFENSIVE STOP 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/9ZrRXFIBd8
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) April 13, 2024
Despite their lack of reputation for defense, Booker and Bradley Beal closed up on Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, forcing him to miss shots and helping Phoenix defeat Sacramento 108-107. With the victory, they are all alone in seventh position and will very certainly host the 7-8 play-in game.
With just over a minute remaining, the Kings led by four points and had a chance to take a commanding lead after grabbing three offensive rebounds in a single possession.
However, Beal made it a two-point game by stealing the ball from Domantas Sabonis of the Kings and scoring an instant bucket. Sabonis fouled Kevin Durant on the rebound after Fox missed, and Durant knotted the game at the free-throw line. Following another Sabonis foul and another Fox miss, Jusuf Nurkic made the game-winning free shot.
The contest demonstrated the closeness of the Pacific Division thus far this season. If the Suns don’t finish in the top six, all Pacific teams will compete in the play-in round. The most likely matches are the Golden State Warriors flying to Sacramento to play the 9-10 game against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Suns visiting each other.
It might have gone very differently if Beal hadn’t used his clutch defense. Phoenix would lose the tiebreaker to the Kings. With the Suns, the Lakers already had the tiebreaker. They were just one theft away from something terrible. They may even receive a whole week off because of Beal and Booker.
