Preview: Phoenix At Toronto
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 29, 2015
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
The Phoenix Suns are in a tough spot, losers of four straight and beginning their longest road trip of the season against one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. The Suns begin the voyage Sunday night at Toronto, which has won four in a row and is coming off perhaps its most dramatic victory of the season.
Opponents have produced an average of 118.8 points during Phoenix’s four-game slide, which includes a 135-116 loss to Golden State on Friday in which the Warriors shot 56.8 percent and hit 22 3-pointers, both highs against the Suns this season. “We just need to refocus on our defense,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters. “I think our guys have gotten to the point where they’re just trying to score and not worrying about the other end, and we’ve given up a lot of points during this stretch.” Cory Joseph’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted the Raptors to a dramatic 84-82 win in Washington on Saturday. Toronto rallied from eight points down in the final three-plus minutes to claim their third straight road victory.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), Sportsnet (Toronto)
ABOUT THE SUNS (7-9): The loss to the Warriors was made more painful by the departure of center Tyson Chandler, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter and did not return. Alex Len figures to get his second start of the season if Chandler is unable to go, and the third-year big man has been a factor when things are going well for the Suns. Len is averaging 7.6 points on 47.7 percent shooting in Phoenix’s seven wins, compared to 3.1 points with a 40 percent mark from the floor in its nine losses.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (11-6): The Suns’ inability to defend the perimeter could bode well for Toronto, which hit 11-of-24 3-pointers Saturday, led by Kyle Lowry’s 6-of-11 effort. Lowry has scored at least 20 points in nine of his last 10 games and has 27 in back-to-back games. Fellow star guard DeMar DeRozan has recorded three straight 20-point games of his own but has not made more than 50 percent of his shots in any of his last 14 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix PG Eric Bledsoe is averaging 25.6 points on the road.
2. DeRozan has averaged 14.8 points in 10 games against Phoenix, his lowest average against all but two other NBA teams.
3. The Suns are 26-11 all-time against the Raptors, including 12-6 in Toronto.
PREDICTION: Raptors 101, Suns 94