At times, it looked like the Wizards were following the script we've seen far too often in disappointing Wizards games as of late: They let the Suns get out to a hot start, they failed to put together a demoralizing run in the first half to assert their superiority, and didn't appear to have a great adjustment in place to pull away in the second half.
But unlike other games this season, where the Wizards would let their struggles get the best of them, they were able to collect themselves and pull away in the fourth quarter, keeping the Suns just far enough away to keep them from letting a few lucky bounces make it a nailbiter.
A big part of that was John Wall, who was just two rebounds shy of a triple-double tonight, but they got help from all their key backcourt contributors in the closing minutes. Bradley Beal hit a couple of key buckets and Ramon Sessions scored seven in the final frame. He provided the extra spacing and speed the Wizards needed to stretch their big lineups beyond where they could be effective.
The Markieff Morris Revenge Game was a success
As expected, Morris did not get a warm welcome in his return to Phoenix, and Washington wanted to make sure he could shake off the boos early. They ran a few plays in the early going, but he struggled, hitting just one of his first four shots.
He finally started to get going in the second quarter after John Wall found him for a dunk in transition. He responded by making his next two shots to close the first half with 11 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks.
He built on that momentum in the second half on both ends of the floor, capping it off with a great block here that really helped turn the tide of the game for the Wizards.
Keef goes WAY up for the rejection! #WizSuns pic.twitter.com/0jOLJuxSwN
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) April 2, 2016
Final line: 21 points on 15 shots, 9 boards, 4 blocks, 1 sweet victory.
Washington loses battle for the paint
Thanks to all the Suns' injuries woes this season, they've been forced to play very big lineups late in the season, and it posed a bit of an issue for the Wizards tonight. Marcin Gortat struggled early against the length of Tyson Chandler and Alex Len, and Markieff Morris wasn't able to take advantage of the open shots he was getting outside.
Worse yet, the Suns were able to keep the Wizards from getting up and down by clamping down in the paint. They won the rebounding battle 56-44 and scored 14 more points in the paint than the Wizards.
Eventually, the Wizards were able to pull away as they figured out how to space the floor better offensively and congest the floor on the other end, but it was not an inspiring performance down low to say the least.