Can Phoenix Suns keep momentum going against East leader Cleveland Cavaliers?
The Cleveland Cavaliers led by as many as 32 points and made 19 3-point shots in blitzing the Phoenix Suns, 118-92, Jan. 20 in Cleveland.
The Suns haven’t forgotten that.
Phoenix is taking a two-game winning streak into Friday’s 7 p.m., rematch against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
“The way that we lost that game, us as a team, it didn't set right with us,” Suns big Nick Richards said after Thursday’s practice. “I think we're going to come out with a different type of mindset.”
The Suns (33-37) are in the middle of a five-game homestand looking for a huge win Friday against Cleveland (56-13) at PHX Arena.
“They've obviously had a special season,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said about the Cavs after Wednesday’s 127-121 win over the Chicago Bulls. “... Looking forward to playing a good team and the challenge."
Phoenix has improved to 10th in the West for the conference’s final play-in spot with 12 games remaining in the regular season. The Suns have the same record as Dallas, but they own the tiebreaker over the short-handed Mavericks.
The Suns came into the season with championship aspirations, but now are just fighting to make the play-in, games that involve the 7th through 10th place regular-season finishers to see which two will secure the seventh and eight playoff spots in the West.
The Suns have some momentum going into Friday’s game.
Phoenix had last won two games in a row in late January before topping Toronto and Chicago this week to begin the five-game homestand.
The Suns will face much tougher challenges in their next three home games – Friday against Cleveland, Monday versus Milwaukee (38-30) and Wednesday against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics (50-19).
Richards believes the Cavs will be the toughest test out of those three games.
“The Cavs have just lost three in a row,” said Richards. "So, they're going to come out and play like they're desperate, just to get a win.”
"We win these next three games, this is probably going to be the hardest one. The Cavs have just lost 3 in a row. So they're going to come out and play like they're desperate, just to get a win."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 20, 2025
Nick Richards as Suns face Cavs, who beat them 118-92 Jan. 20 in Cleveland.
"The… pic.twitter.com/1w8MSTQrsX
The three-game skid is Cleveland’s longest of the season.
Orlando first snapped Cleveland’s historic 16-game win streak. Then the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings defeated the Cavs, who are on a five-game road trip.
After Phoenix, the Cavs conclude the road trip with matchups against Utah and Portland.
This will be a homecoming for Cavs reserve guard Ty Jerome, who started his NBA career with the Suns in 2019-20. He only played one season in Phoenix, after which the Suns traded him to Oklahoma City as part of the deal that brought Chris Paul to the Suns.
Jerome is with his fourth NBA team, but he’s having a career year in his second season with the Cavs in averaging 11.9 points on 50.3% shooting.
“Incredible,” said Devin Booker, who was teammates with Jerome when he was a rookie in 2019-20. “Super proud of him. We’ve remained in contact throughout the season. I’m just happy for him. He always had the pace, he always had the IQ for the game and we’ve always talked about taking advantage of your opportunity.”
Booker added that Jerome can play in “any system,” and “elevate” a team, but added that Jerome is “shooting the (expletive) out of the ball."
Jerome is making 41.8% percent of his 3s this season.
The Suns have been able to force turnovers and convert off them in winning their last two games. They scored 20 points off 12 Toronto turnovers Monday and churned out 23 points off 13 Chicago turnovers Wednesday.
“We're a little more connected right now,” Booker said. “This is what we've been waiting on. So, we got to sustain it."
"Just the physicality and defense on switching as far as keeping our man in front. We struggled a lot this year keeping our man in front 1-on-1."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 20, 2025
Kevin Durant on what needs to carry over from Suns winning last 2 games into brutal 10-game stretch starting Friday vs. Cavs. #Sunspic.twitter.com/kdgT1X4gJi
Suns superstar Kevin Durant expanded on what the Suns must carry over from their two-game win streak against the Cavs.
“Just the physicality and defense on switching as far as keeping our man in front,” Durant said. “We’ve struggled a lot this year keeping our man in front 1-on-1 defensively and that causes a lot of breakdowns, which causes a lot of 3s, which just throws the game out of whack when we can’t guard 1-on-1.”
The Suns are still without Bradley Beal as he’ll be re-evaluated early next week with a left hamstring strain. Grayson Allen has missed five straight games with a left foot strain and Mason Plumlee sat out Wednesday’s win with a left quad strain.
The Suns have started two-way player Collin Gillespie and rookie Ryan Dunn along with Booker, Durant and Richards in winning two straight.
Making his first career start Monday, Gillespie started in place of Beal.
"It was really cool. Really surreal moment for myself after just battling that stuff, all the injuries and stuff. It was cool, it was fun. Most importantly, we got a win."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 20, 2025
Two-way player Collin Gillespie on 1st career start Monday against Toronto.
On what he's trying to bring… pic.twitter.com/Z6urOySDCm
“Just energy,” Gillespie said, on what he looks to bring as a starter. “A lot of pace. Trying to create turnovers. Speed people up. Rebound. Do all the little things."
The play of Cody Martin, rookie big Oso Ighodaro, Dunn and Gillespie have given Phoenix more of a defensive presence. Martin joined Phoenix in a deal before the trade deadline that sent Jusuf Nurkic to Charlotte, but he had been out with a sports hernia.
Martin became available last week against Sacramento, made his Suns debut on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers and has had a defensive impact.
“That’s his game,” Suns point guard Tyus Jones said. “He’s active. He’s going to get blocks, steals, deflections. Get out in transition and run. It’s contagious.”
Martin and Jones each had three steals in Wednesday’s win.
“He’s not shying away from it,” said Richards about Martin wanting top defensive assignments. The two were teammates in Charlotte. “He wants that confrontation. He wants to be in a position to guard the best players on the other team.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns face tough test Friday vs Cleveland Cavaliers
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