For the Phoenix Suns, the fourth quarter is not their strength this season. Possessing three of the NBA’s outstanding scorers does not help much for the Suns, who have the lowest fourth-quarter net-rating ever (-16.7 points).
With this statistic, combined with being 21 points ahead with more than 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter in the match against the Sacramento Kings, not many Phoenix fans hope for a favorable result.
However, a miracle happened.
Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel made a bold decision to completely abandon defense to focus 100% on attack, almost accepting a gamble.
He withdrew perimeter defense specialist Josh Okogie to the bench and brought Eric Gordon onto the field to create a 5-man lineup including 5 pitchers: Gordon, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Grayson Allen.
Thanks to this all-in shot, the Phoenix Suns overwhelmed the Sacramento Kings with a 23-5 score in the last 3 minutes of the match, completing a comeback in NBA history with a 119-117 victory.
This is only the second time in the past 25 years that a winning team has come back from a deficit of at least 20 points in the last 8 minutes of the fourth quarter.
In addition, the Phoenix Suns are also the first team since 2020 to win when trailing by 22 points in the fourth quarter. Previously, there were 1,244 matches in which the team behind could not come back.
Until they collapsed in the 4th round, the Sacramento Kings were the team in complete control of this match. They led 39-27 after the first half then widened the gap to 68-51 at the end of the second half.
The advantage was stretched furthest in the fourth quarter, when the Kings led 109-87 with 8 minutes and 22 seconds left on the game clock. By the halftime mark, De’Aaron Fox and his teammates still led by 18 points.
But then everything completely collapsed in the final 6 minutes and 14 seconds of the match with the Phoenix Suns’ long streak of points, including a 15-1 run in 3 minutes.
Kevin Durant was the star of the match with 2 free throws to seal the 119-117 victory, scoring 27 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Devin Booker contributed 16 points and 11 assists on a day when he was a bit lacking in feeling (5-14 FG).
Surprisingly, Grayson Allen threw in 9 3-pointers for the Suns, scoring 29 points and adding 6 assists and 5 rebounds. The entire Phoenix team shot 17 3-pointers in this match, including 7 successful shots in the final half alone.
On the other side of the field, De’Aaron Fox shined alone with 33 points and 6 assists. He alone could not stop the opponent’s crazy scoring streak and together with his teammates received their 17th defeat since the beginning of the season (23-17).
