PHOENIX — Mason Plumlee played 26 minutes off the bench in Monday’s home win over the Los Angeles Lakers . Two days later, after the Phoenix Suns had finished practice, the backup big man was asked if he knew how many shots he had put up over that stretch. Plumlee laughed.
“I don’t think I took a shot,” he said. Advertisement With Jusuf Nurkić struggling, coach Mike Budenholzer leaned on Plumlee against the Lakers, and in the final minutes, Plumlee made one of the night’s bigger plays. With the Suns leading 105-104 with 90 seconds left, Devin Booker squared from the left corner for an open 3-pointer.
He missed. Plumlee pulled down the offensive rebound over the Lakers’ Anthony Davis , an extra possession when Phoenix needed it most. The Suns moved the ball around the perimeter until it reached forward Royce O’Neale on the right wing.
O’Neale pump-faked and dribbled into the lane, throwing up a soft runner that swished. This is how this year’s Suns are different. Last year’s bench* struggled to make an impact.
This year’s bench is helping the Suns (3-1) win games. In last Saturday’s win over Dallas , it was O’Neale making a layup and racing down to block a layup just before the third-quarter buzzer, a bang-bang play that ignited his team. Monday, it was Plumlee grabbing a key rebound.
(*At this time last season, Phoenix’s top reserves consisted of Eric Gordon , Chimezie Metu, Jordan Goodwin, Josh Okogie , Drew Eubanks , Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Wa.
