NBA: Phoenix burns Washington at home, sparking a new streak

Phoenix, Arizona - The Phoenix Suns made light work of the Washington Wizards on Thursday night, sparking another winning streak for one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Deandre Ayton chipped in with 15 points for the Suns on Thursday night.
Deandre Ayton chipped in with 15 points for the Suns on Thursday night.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The Suns dominated the Wizards 118-98 for their second-straight win and the third winning run of the regular season.

Washington, on the other hand, has now lost four games in a row.

The Wizards battled hard at the start, achieving a five-point lead early, but that would end up being the only time they were ahead as Phoenix went up 31-23 by the end of the first quarter.

NBA slaps Clippers' PJ Tucker with biggest fine of the year
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The Suns kept it up in the second, extending the gap to 12 points by the intermission.

The Wizards had to keep playing catch-up through the third quarter, but Phoenix kept pulling away, eventually building an advantage as big as 26 points.

The Suns were just too much for Washington, with eight out of their 11 active players scoring in double-figures, while the Wizards' starting center Daniel Gafford didn’t score a single point during his time on the floor.

Though the Wizards nearly matched the Suns in fourth-quarter points, Phoenix had this game in the bag long before that.

The player spotlight

JaVale McGee led the Suns with 17 points against the Wizards on Thursday night.
JaVale McGee led the Suns with 17 points against the Wizards on Thursday night.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

Thursday night’s win was definitely a team effort for the Suns, with no one really taking off on the stat sheets, but 33-year-old center Javale McGee took on the mantle of his team’s high scorer.

As talented as the Suns are up and down their roster, it’s still a surprise sometimes when one of their players comes off of the bench to lead in scoring. Still, McGee hasn’t been playing in the league for 14 years out of pure luck, after all.

In just 16 minutes on the floor, McGee went 6-for-8 from the field for a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.

The big picture

Devin Booker has missed seven regular season games with an injured hamstring.
Devin Booker has missed seven regular season games with an injured hamstring.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The Suns are now currently tied with the Warriors for the league’s best record, certainly showing the rest of the NBA that these two teams are going to go keep up this tug-of-war for the title of the league's best team.

And with a performance like they just showed against the Wizards – a sort of "all hands-on deck" effort – they continue to make light of absence of their best scorer, Devin Booker, who's still nursing his injured hamstring.

Booker has been out for seven games now, including Thursday night, and there’s still no word on when he’ll return to Phoenix’s active roster. Just as good, then, that the Suns have clearly found a way to win without him.

On Sunday, the Suns will stay at home to host the Hornets while on Saturday night, the Wizards travel to Utah to take on the Jazz.

Cover photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

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