PHOENIX — The most painful moment in recent Arizona sports history might have occurred Feb. 1, 2009. The Arizona Cardinals, seeking their first championship, scored with less than three minutes left to take a lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. Fans celebrated. They could taste victory. And then the Steelers orchestrated a last-gasp drive to win 27-23, robbing the 48th state of a historic moment.
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Thirteen years later, the Phoenix Suns leapfrogged the Cardinals and those final three minutes. Owners of the regular season’s best record, the top-seeded Suns came out flat in their biggest moment, leaving a sold-out Footprint Center crowd stunned and ending one of the most promising campaigns in franchise history.
Phoenix’s 123-90 Game 7 defeat to Dallas on Sunday was one the locals will talk about for years. Or maybe they won’t. Some things are just too painful to discuss. Unlike the Cardinals so many years ago, the Suns were not a postseason upstart. Behind Devin Booker and Chris Paul, they set a franchise record for wins. Coming off last season’s Finals appearance, they were poised to take the next step. Instead, they struggled to put away New Orleans in the first round and were bounced by Luka Doncic and the fourth-seeded Mavericks in the second.
“It was a good, old-fashioned ass whipping beginning to end,” Booker said.
“This just sucks,” forward Mikal Bridges said.
Had Phoenix lost in the final minutes, its elimination still would’ve stung, but it would’ve been easier to swallow. This is the playoffs. Such things happen. But this was over in the first half. The Suns never led. Worse, they didn’t compete, trailing 57-27 at halftime. As he walked to the locker room, Booker had thoughts of a second-half push, but it was wishful thinking. Dallas scored the first eight points of the third quarter.
Give coach Jason Kidd and the Mavs credit. They were masterful defensively. “They played their tails off,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. Booker, who had averaged 25.5 points in this series entering Sunday, spent most of Game 7 passing out of double-teams. He didn’t make his first shot until five minutes remained in the third quarter and finished with 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
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“They did a good job getting the ball out of my hands and trapping every action I was in,” Booker said.
Paul also struggled, hitting his first shot with seven minutes left in the third. He finished with 10 points, fueling discussion about whether he was 100 percent the entire series. (The 37-year-old point guard didn’t help matters in the postgame news conference, twice dodging questions on this topic.)
With Booker and Paul handcuffed, the Suns needed someone else to step up. No one did. Big man Deandre Ayton was ineffective, collecting five points and four rebounds. Asked about the big man’s 17 minutes, Williams said simply: “It’s internal.”
Phoenix shot 37.9 percent from the field. No one scored more than 12 points. (The starting five mustered only 37.) The Suns chalked it up to having their worst game at the worst time, but the truth is the stink lingered from last week.
At times in this series, the Suns were their own worst enemy. After a Game 5 win provided a 3-2 series lead, they traveled to Dallas and slept through a 113-86 loss, feeling secure that they had Game 7 on their home court, a place they could not fail. In their defense, the Suns had won games 1, 2 and 5 by an average of 19 points at the Footprint Center. They had reason to be confident. But the lack of aggression was a red flag.
Championship teams leave little to chance. They seize the moment. They don’t wait. Given how they played in Dallas, the Suns’ mindset in Game 6 seemed to be, “If we lose, no worries, we’ll get ’em in Phoenix.”
It backfired.
Some postseason lessons cannot be absorbed or passed down, they have to be experienced. Until last season, Phoenix went 10 years without taking a dribble in the playoffs. Booker talked last week about watching the playoffs on television and imagining what it would be like when his turn came. That made for a nice story, but it’s not something that transfers to the court. Phoenix’s postseason run last season was a gift from the basketball heavens. No playoffs, and then — Bam! — Phoenix trades for Paul and the Suns advance to the NBA Finals. Despite losing to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in six games, it was a mind-blowing rush.
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But these things usually don’t unfold in such a way. Postseason scars might hurt in the moment, but the lessons they leave can help shape a franchise’s future. Though Paul and Jae Crowder had experienced Game 7s over their careers, Booker, Bridges and Ayton had not. It showed. Desperation basketball goes beyond the comfort home court provides.
“I can’t tell you guys enough,” forward Cameron Johnson said, “how much I wish I could rewind the clock a couple hours.”
After the final seconds ticked, Williams congratulated Kidd. “You got us,” he said. “You kicked our butts.” The NBA’s Coach of the Year walked off the court proud of what Phoenix had accomplished during the regular season but aware that the Suns the past two weeks had not been the same team. They were inconsistent. They struggled on the road. In the locker room, Williams told his players that all season they had absorbed everyone’s praise. Now, after such a painful setback, they had to experience the other side.
“That’s a part of manhood,” Williams said. “There are days when it doesn’t go your way. And you got to stand right there and show character and integrity and take it. That’s life.”
A painful lesson, indeed.
(Photo of Chris Paul: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
