It’s coming down to the wire for Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns as they try to lock into one of the Top 6 spots in the Western Conference and avoid the play-in tournament.
Brad’s performance on Wednesday could go a long way toward that goal.
No. 3 dropped 26 points on 9-of-17 from the field and added five rebounds and four assists as Phoenix bounced back from a loss to the Clippers at home on Tuesday by picking up a 124-108 win in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Despite the loss, LA is now locked into the fourth or fifth spot in the West, with Dallas in position to take the other. That leaves just one spot above the cut-line for the play-in tournament. With Wednesday’s win, the Suns are a half game out of that spot behind the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Suns took an early lead in the contest behind 16-first quarter points by Devin Booker, but trailed by one at the break. In the third, Brad asserted himself, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
His success allowed Phoenix to keep pace, as both teams scored 37 points in the third. That left the Suns still down one entering the fourth, however they locked in on defense in the fourth, limiting the Clippers to just 15 points on 7-of-26 shooting. Phoenix, meanwhile, shot 57 percent from the field in the fourth to close out the win.
The Suns have just two games remaining in their regular season, but do not control their own destiny for the sixth seed. They will need to win both of their games, plus have the Pelicans lose one of their final three games in order to slide into the sixth spot.
Phoenix plays at Sacramento on Friday night (7:30 pm local time, NBATV) in what could be a play-in preview. The Kings are locked into the play-in and would face the Suns in Phoenix in a play-in game next week if the seeding ended up as it is now.
The Suns then finish their regular season on Sunday in Minnesota (12:30 pm local time, Arizona’s Family Sports), against a Timberwolves team still fighting for the top seed in the West.
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