On New Year’s Day at Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns earned their fourth straight win in the most unconventional way imaginable.Not only were they without Kevin Durant, but Devin Booker had one of his worst shooting nights of the season, making just four shots on 16 attempts for 10 points.
Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic, who averages 10.5 rebounds per game, grabbed just 7 rebounds. However, the Suns overcame the absence of their two leading scorers and also won the rebounding battle, despite Nurkic finishing below his season average.Not to mention, this ominous win came just two days after Phoenix’s bench scored a season-low six points.So how did they do it? Well, partly, Bol Bol.With a deficit of 9 in the second quarter, Frank Vogel chose to involve Bol in the game. It was only the second time this season that Bol logged minutes outside of the 4th quarter. Yet his impact was evident from the moment he stepped onto the pitch. Courtesy of the sold-out crowd at the Footprint Center, fans exploded when they saw Bol sweating in warmups. The energy changed and the Suns took an early lead with a 14-0 run. From then on they took control of the game and never looked back. Bol finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds in the twenty minutes of action he saw. Entering the season, Bol only had six points and four rebounds on the season. After the win, Suns starting center Jusuf Nurkic explained what the breakout meant: “First of all, I’m glad he had enough.
They worked hard and in this league you never know when your chance will come, you just have to be ready. Obviously we would have liked him to make fewer mistakes, but we were happy that he had the chance to play and show that he can play.”Reflecting on Bol’s preparation for the match, Nurkic added: “He just works. He does exactly what the coaches, staff and team ask of him to stay ready and in shape. Sometimes it’s hard not to play for so long. I think it’s normal to have some problems with fouls, but the coach gave him the chance to play with two fouls. I think it’s encouraging and obviously he knows he was going to play tonight so he’s going to play differently. But it was like a magnet there; The audience loves him so much and wherever we go, home or away, we are just happy to see him there too.
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