The Phoenix Suns have done it again. With a last-second 114-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, courtesy of a Jusuf Nurkic free throw, the Suns improved to 7-0 in games designated as "clutch" by the NBA (within five points inside the final five minutes).
This one wasn't just within five points. After the Suns let a 13-point halftime lead get away, this was a one-possession game for all but 17 seconds of the final seven-and-a-half minutes. Phoenix is making a habit of these photo finishes, and you have to wonder how long they can keep getting away with it after rating as the worst fourth-quarter team in basketball last season.
This season, that late-game script has been completely flipped. The Suns, who have bumped their fourth-quarter net rating from the minus-5.5 it was last season to plus-2.6 this year, are outscoring opponents by (small-sample alert) 45.3 points per 100 possessions in the clutch -- the third-best mark in the league behind Cleveland and Golden State.
It helps to have Kevin Durant, who leads the league with 35 clutch points. Inside those final five minutes, he has made an incredible 12 of 14 two-point shots, and on Friday he made two of his three 3-pointers over a one-minute clutch stretch in which he and Kyrie Irving matched consecutive triples.
Durant has been absolutely incredible all season, yet again, but even more so in the most high-leverage minutes. On Wednesday, he knocked in a 22-footer to ice the Heat.
Again, the Suns are not making it easy on themselves. When they haven't dug themselves into large deficits this season, they have blown their own big leads. Either way, it has led to stressful finishes. On opening night, the Suns trailed the Clippers by nine with four minutes to play. Durant hit the game-tying 15-footer with 21 seconds left and Phoenix prevailed in overtime.
Five days later, the Suns trailed the Lakers by as many as 18 points. After rallying back, Durant sealed the win with eight points over a two-minute stretch in the clutch. Three days after that, they got down 21 to the Clippers; this time it was Devin Booker with 13 fourth-quarter points in a six-point Suns win. Against the Blazers, they let a 26-point lead get chewed down to two with less than a minute to play. They escaped that one, as well.
On Monday, the Suns trailed the 76ers by nine with five minutes to play. Durant scored 10 of the next 14 points, including this elbow fadeaway to put Phoenix up one with a minute remaining.
And then the drive and finish to win the game with 24 seconds left.
"We've been in a lot of tight, close games. I'm sure Suns fans on edge every game, but I think it's good for our team that we can play these fourth quarter games and get an understanding for what it's like in crunch time," Durant said after the Miami win.
The Suns are doing a lot of good things to put Durant in these positions to seal close games. They're defending at a top-10 level. Both Durant and Booker have talked about their organization offensively -- having the proper spacing and support screening to set up Durant in his preferred scoring spots.
It cannot be overstated how well Bradley Beal is playing as a purely additive third option. Rookie Ryan Dunn has been a massive addition. Royce O'Neale is shooting lights out from 3. Grayson Allen is getting it going. Jusuf Nurkic is averaging a double-double and really defending. Tyus Jones has been so vital in the balance of it all. But in the end, Durant, as Booker said after the Miami win, is a mother----er" to deal with." By extension, so are the Suns.