Bradley Beal, Suns React to New Bench Role

Bradley Beal gave the Suns a much-needed spark in his first game off the bench in 9 years.

Jan 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) talk during a break in action during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

With the Phoenix Suns sitting at 15-18 on the season and having lost four straight, coach Mike Budenholzer elected to bring Bradley Beal off the bench for the first time in nine years in Monday's road matchup against the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers.

The move paid off, as Beal recorded a team-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and five assists in 30 minutes to pace the Suns to a 109-99 win. He was also a team-high plus-14 in his minutes.

"Brad, what he was able to do tonight, really put us in a great spot, made a bunch of plays for himself, made a bunch of plays for his teammates," Budenholzer said (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin).

"He's been a pro. He was there for us tonight in a big way."

Beal said he was "100%" surprised by the decision, and there was "no" indication of the lineup reshuffling, which also included Jusuf Nurkic (5 points, 7 rebounds) moving to the bench. Ryan Dunn (15 points, 4 rebounds) and Mason Plumlee (2 points, 7 rebounds) started in their places.

"I'm a starter in the league, I firmly believe that," Beal said (via Rankin). "No disrespect to anybody, but I'm a starter. That's what I firmly believe.

"But Coach made his decision, I'm not going to sit here and argue with him. I'm not going to sit here and be a distraction, I'm not going to sit here and be an a------. He made his decision, I live with it. He's the coach. I just gotta go out and play my game and do what I do, and whatever happens from there, happens from there."

Beal received major props from his teammates for his maturity to come off the bench.

"Something I didn't expect coming, but Brad responded well, Nurk responded well," Devin Booker said of the lineup change. "They didn't let it weigh in the locker room. It was important and big part of our win tonight."

"(Not letting it affect the locker room) is the biggest part. In a league full of a lot of people with a lot of egos, to put that to the side and take it for what it is, and still come out and perform at a high level is a true testament to the professionalism."

Kevin Durant said that the team spoke over the last couple of days "on what type of team we wanted to be and what we wanted to see moving forward."

"We lost four in a row, (Budenholzer) was just trying to give us a spark, and I think that was a spark we needed just to kind of wake us up a bit," Durant added.

Before the game, Budenholzer said this new lineup is "what we plan to do. We'll continue to evaluate, but I wouldn't turn this into a day-to-day type thing."

With that said, Beal explained his approach to finding a rhythm off the bench, which, based on Budenholzer's comments, will likely continue Tuesday on the second night of a back to back against the Charlotte Hornets.

"It's different for sure. I just kind of programmed myself like it was my second time coming back into the game. Like I subbed out the first time and just keep my body warm, and when I check back in, just be aggressive off the rip. It wasn't too bad."