Phoenix Suns: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season
6. The four-game win streak in December
December was the second of three times in 2018-19 that the Phoenix Suns tricked everyone into thinking they were about to turn a corner. After painfully navigating through Trevor Ariza’s complete disinterest, Ryan Anderson’s evaporating 3-point shot, starting point guard Isaiah Canaan and nagging injuries to Booker, this four-game win streak had plenty of people ready to buy in.
It sounds silly to say about a team that was 8-24, but there’s no denying Phoenix played some of its best basketball of the season during this stretch where Kelly Oubre Jr. first joined the team.
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Sporting wins over a still-competitive Dallas Mavericks team, a Minnesota Timberwolves side that was moving on from Jimmy Butler, an admittedly bad New York Knicks ball club and the mighty Boston Celtics, the Suns enjoyed their first four-game win streak since March 15-22, 2015.
Each win brought something positive and memorable with it. The Mavs game featured Dirk Nowitzki’s first appearance of the season, a 30-point night from T.J. Warren and Ayton’s second win over Luka Doncic despite Booker being sidelined.
The Timberwolves victory featured Booker’s return with a 28-7-7 stat line and an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double in Ayton’s first game against Karl-Anthony Towns. Booker’s 38 points in the Knicks game were accompanied by a 21-13 double-double from Ayton, and his 25 points in Boston were followed up with a monster 23-18 double-double from the Suns rook.
It really felt like the Phoenix Suns were learning how to win games against quality opponents, and though it ultimately turned out to be fool’s gold thanks to a tough schedule, having no starting-caliber point guard and more injuries, there’s no question this was one of the high points of the season.