Phoenix Suns: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

6. Chriss’ game-saving block

In another rare win on Jan. 2, the Suns cast aside tank projections for the night and earned a highly entertaining victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks to start 2018 off right.

Devin Booker was one obvious hero of the game, scoring eight of his 34 points over the final 37 seconds to help Phoenix come back in dramatic fashion. He also added seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in one of his best performances of the season, while T.J. Warren dropped 31 points on 15-of-21 shooting.

The real hero, however, was Marquese Chriss for his game-saving denial of Taurean Prince on an alley-oop at the rim:

To be fair, it was Chriss that lost his man in the first place, but the speed and athleticism to close that distance, rise up and get the block was a remarkable reminder that it’s far too early to give up on this 20-year-old, disappointing season and all. Somehow, this is not the block against Atlanta that earned him a nomination for #BlockOfTheYear.

In any case, Chriss finished his night with 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-7 from 3-point range. It seemed like a tough win at the time for tanking purposes, but now that we know the Suns secured the league’s worst record, it’s much easier to look back fondly on this late-game stand.