Suns first team to qualify for playoffs

MIAMI — Not that there was any question about it, but the Phoenix Suns are going to the playoffs.

The Suns also left no doubt in a duel between the conference leaders.

Devin Booker scored 23 points, Michael Bridges added 21 and the Suns got off to a slow start to beat the Miami Heat 111-90 on Wednesday, becoming the first team this season to clinch a postseason berth.

“I told the guys it was one of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

Booker, returning from a four-game absence due to Covid-related issues (he said he was asymptomatic and had no issues), flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds.

His first trip to the Playoffs last season ended with a loss in the NBA Finals. He is looking for a little more this time.

“We know what we’re working for,” Booker said.

Phoenix set the best record in the NBA at 53-13, and the reigning Western Conference champion Suns have now beaten all 29 other teams this season, the first time they’ve done so since 2006-07. It’s the first time the Suns are 40 games over .500 since the end of the 2006-07 season, when they went 61-21.

The Suns also avenged a 23-point loss to Miami in January.

“I’m sure they remembered that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They really wanted to make a statement tonight. They just outplayed us.”

Following a win Tuesday night at Orlando, Phoenix improved its NBA road record to 25-6. The Suns have an 8 1/2-game lead over Memphis and are nine games ahead of Golden State and East-leader Miami.

Deandre Ayton scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who got 11 points and 15 rebounds from JaVale McGeeand 11 points each of Jay Crowder and cameron payne.

Duncan Robinson scored 22 points for Miami, which lost for just the third time in its last 15 games.

“They were first to the ball a lot of times,” Robinson said of the Suns. “They were the aggressors… Unacceptable.”

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro scored 17 points apiece for the Heat, who played without Jimmy Butler (paranasal congestion) and lost the key reserve Caleb Martin midway through the second quarter due to hyperextension of the left knee. The Heat expect to know more on Thursday.

The Suns trailed by 11 points early, took a two-point lead at the half and then outscored Miami 34-19 in the third to open the difference. Booker capped the quarter with a long 3-pointer as the Heat went 1-for-8 in the quarter from beyond the arc and were 74-91 in the final 12 minutes.

“I was ready,” Bridges said of Booker’s return.

Phoenix is ​​now 13-13 when trailing by double figures this season. It is on track to become the seventh team in the past 10 seasons to finish .500 or better in games trailing by double figures. Four of the previous six made it to the finals.

Miami came out flying, scoring 25 points in the first 6 minutes, an explosion fueled by five 3-pointers. The Heat were 9-for-12 from the floor in that stretch, 5-for-6 from 3-point range and ended the streak by making seven straight shots.

That’s when the Phoenix defense appeared. The Heat were 5-for-27 from 3-point range the rest of the game. An 18-7 run by the Suns pushed the margin to 80-65 late in the third and the lead finally increased to 27 in the fourth.

“We wanted to make a statement here,” Booker said.

With information from ESPN Stats & Information and the Associated Press.