What Suns Cleaned up to Get Christmas Win over Nuggets

The Suns looked like a different team against Nikola Jokic and co.

Dec 25, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) guards Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing skid and got their first Christmas Day victory since 2009 last night with a 110-100 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Without Devin Booker for the third-straight game, the Suns made some big changes in their play to get revenge on Denver, who beat them by 27 points on Monday.

Phoenix had contributions up and down the roster in the win, led by 27 points apiece from Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. You can read a full recap of the game by clicking here.

The frustrating part about the Suns' recent struggles entering the game was the fact they were way more capable of putting together a better product than they showed on the court.

Last night, these three keys stuck out as to why they got the win and are areas they need to carry over consistently moving forward:

Hustle and Energy

Beal, Josh Okogie, Monte Morris and Ryan Dunn, who got the start for Booker, spearheaded the Suns' active defensive effort and offensive glass work.

Phoenix forced 16 Denver turnovers leading to 20 Suns points and won the fastbreak points 15-6.

The Suns, who are a bottom-five team in offensive rebounds per game, grabbed 12 offensive boards, largely because of the extra effort of wings crashing the glass. This was only Phoenix's second time in its last seven games with double-digit offensive rebounds.

There is no reason the Suns can't show this level of activity night in and night out. It not only helped them get out and run, but establish a rhythm on both sides of the ball. Denver shot 27.6% from three after opponents had been shooting 42.1% from deep against Phoenix during its three-game losing streak.

Beal said he felt the team was lacking joy and hustle during the losing streak.

"Honestly, man, if you go back and look at all those games, that's why we lost, which is why I'm quite enjoying it," he said postgame.

"We're just pressing, trying to make the perfect play. Nobody wants to lose; nobody wants to be the guy that makes the mistake. Everybody wants to contribute to winning and make the right play, and sometimes you just be caught up in not having fun, and why you play the game and all that.

"I think just finding that joy, it uplifts you in every category game. It gets you going in every facet of the game. So, we're at our best when we're having fun, the ball is popping, we're getting stops, just letting it fly.”

Okogie (two offensive rebounds, one steal), Dunn (two offensive rebounds) and Morris (one offensive rebound, two steals) all could have earned themselves a permanent ticket to the rotation with their performances.

“I thought Josh (Okogie) and Monte (Morris) set a tone for us, even though they were not starting the game, but maintaining our intensity, maintaining all those activity plays, hustle plays," Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said postgame.

"Josh's defense on the ball, I thought was really good. That whole bench group, Mason (Plumlee) off the bench, Royce (O’Neale) off the bench, but particularly Josh and Monte, I thought they were really good.”

Ball Movement

As mentioned above, the Suns were in a good rhythm, and in turn, the ball was flowing on offense.

Phoenix assisted on 31 of its 41 field goals and only had nine turnovers. Five Suns players had four or more assists, so it wasn't just one player dominating the passing game.

This performance comes after the Suns had 15 or more turnovers every game during their losing streak and looked out of place on offense several trips down the court.

The Suns' offensive formula stayed really consistent all night, and this is something they had been searching for, even in previous wins.

"We know the fans hate threes, but we generated a lot of them tonight just from getting into the paint, kicking out," Durant said.

"Once you can touch the paint, get guys open looks, not even a contest, the confidence just goes sky high. So, it was one of those nights that we needed that good start. We needed that high shooting, and that kind of fueled the rest of our game.

"Scoring does get overlooked in our league, but it does a lot for your team. We were grateful that guys came out and were focusing on their fundamentals and not getting them shots.”

Bradley Beal's Aggressiveness

Beal has had games all season where he is very efficient offensively, but has yet to score over 30 points.

This continued against Denver with a 27-point outing, but the star guard did attempt a season-high 21 shots (made 11), something Phoenix's offense desperately needed without Booker.

Beal's number of field goal attempts might not be this high very night, but he has to be willing to take shots and be a focal point for the opposing defense for Phoenix to reach its full potential.

In addition to his scoring, Beal's activity on defense set the table, as he recorded a season-high four steals.

"He was great. I think offensively, getting a little bit of a rhythm and we've said it, now it's just to play game after game after game," Budenholzer said.

"I think that's how he's going to be at his best, he's got to be healthy and I thought defensively, he put together some possessions in the second half, particularly kind of blowing up handoffs and pick-and-rolls and things like that. We need more of that, he was really good.”

The Suns finally put together a complete game and withstood all of Denver's counterpunches, even with Nikola Jokić going for 25 points and 15 rebounds.

They will need to find this level of effort again Friday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks, who will be without Luka Doncic.