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How Suns are blowing away expectations after disastrous Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal era
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- How Suns are blowing away expectations after disastrous Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal era
The post How Suns are blowing away expectations after disastrous Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal era appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott earned his first Valley moment in the team's first win since parting ways with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal . It followed a 116-113 overtime win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Suns' head coach's debut, offering a glimmer of hope after a disappointing era marked by hollow results for a squad that reached the NBA Finals in 2021.
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After the win, Suns All-Star Devin Booker says the team celebrated with coach Ott in the locker room, per
"We gave him a water bath in there," Booker explained postgame. "They put together a nice little video of his family and friends to congratulate him. It's big time.
"It's a welcome to the valley moment. Got the first one under his belt, and we're all rallying behind."
Since their first win of the regular season, the Suns have rattled off eight more — 9-6 — for the seventh-best record in the Western Conference. Not too shabby for a team that was written off as another lottery-bound season amidst another setback left in the wake of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal 's respective exits.
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Dillon Brooks is having the best offensive start of his career, averaging 22.0 points on 45.9% shooting. And the same could be said about Grayson Allen , posting 18.5 points on 46.8% shooting, including 44.7% from deep, per game. The Suns also have the fifth-highest offensive rating (119.3), trailing the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (119.7) by a hair.
Meanwhile, Booker is off to his typical start to another All-Star campaign, averaging 28.4 points on 49.5% shooting, 7.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game. His 19 points led six Suns players in double figures in a 127-110 win against the Portland Trail Blazers , which is Phoenix's sixth victory in seven tries.
Devin Booker reminisces on breaking Suns' record in Portland
Allan Henry-Imagn Images
After Devin Booker broke the Suns' all-time scoring record in a game against the Trail Blazers last season, he still felt the love from the crowd. Booker recalled hearing cheers on the road.
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After Monday's win, his first time back at the Moda Center since breaking the franchise scoring record, Booker reminisced on last year's career milestone , per ACentral's Duan Rankin.
"[Blazers fans] gave me an ovation," Booker said. "Definitely didn't have to with being a road player, but there's actually a lot of Suns fans here usually, too."
Booker now has 16,869 career points with the Suns.
Related: Devin Booker reveals Dillon Brooks' pivotal impact on Suns
Related: Suns news: Devin Booker reminisces on breaking Phoenix record in Portland
