The Phoenix Suns can salvage their fast-setting playoff hopes with a strong showing in their five-game homestand, which will begin Monday night against the Toronto Raptors.
With both teams playing the second leg of a back-to-back set, Phoenix (31-37) enters Monday’s contest 1 1/2 games behind Dallas for the Western Conference’s final spot in the play-in round.
The Suns had an opportunity to gain ground Sunday, coming off a win over ninth-place Sacramento on Friday and with Dallas losing at home to Philadelphia earlier on Sunday. However, a 107-96 setback against the Los Angeles Lakers sent Phoenix to its 15th loss over the last 21 games.
“In spots, we show we can do it. That’s what makes it even more frustrating,” Devin Booker said of the Suns’ struggles, via the Arizona Republic. “We have a game like (Friday’s 122-106 win over Sacramento), and then we come in and miss a few shots, and that affects our defense.
“If you’re playing with energy and effort, you can sleep well at night regardless. I don’t think we’re doing that right now.”
Sunday was among Phoenix’s better defensive performances as far as points allowed, with the 107 the Lakers scored being the second-fewest the Suns gave up since Feb. 1.
However, Phoenix’s 96 points were the fewest the team scored since registering 92 in a Jan. 20 loss to Cleveland.
Booker and Kevin Durant each shot 6 of 17 from the floor on Sunday and combined for 40 points. Phoenix also lost its third-leading scorer, Bradley Beal at 17.6 points per game, to a left hamstring injury.
Beal’s uncertain status for the closing stretch of the regular season puts a higher premium on Monday’s opportunity against a struggling opponent. Toronto (24-44) fell to 8-24 away from home this season with a 105-102 loss at Portland on Sunday.
The Raptors are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, 4 1/2 games behind 10th-place Chicago.
Toronto was without leading scorer RJ Barrett (21.5 points per game) as well as Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley for Sunday’s game, the second date in a four-game road swing.
The Raptors began the Western Conference trip on Friday with a 126-118 win over Utah. Toronto had run off three straight wins and six in its previous seven games before the visit to Portland.
Despite the loss, and the variety of noteworthy absences, Sunday’s contest marked the return of Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto lineup for the first time since Feb. 28. He delivered 19 points in his first game back from an ankle injury, matching Jakob Poeltl’s team high in scoring.
Poeltl shot 9 of 13 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.
“Consistency has always been the goal throughout my career,” Poeltl told SportsNet. “I’ve never had a goal … to improve on this one specific thing. I just wanted to be a better basketball player overall by a little bit every single year.”
Averaging career highs in scoring at 14.2 points and rebounding with 9.6 per game, Poeltl is accomplishing that in 2024-25.
He was not in the lineup when Phoenix and Toronto most recently met — a 127-109 Raptors home win on Feb. 23. Barrett and Quickley led the way with 23 points apiece, weathering Booker’s 31 points and Beal’s 30 for the Suns.
