Booker's 30 and a Late Steal Help the Suns Hold Off Charlotte, 101-96, After a 17-Point Lead Slips Away

There is an old coaching truth that never goes out of style: take care of the basketball, and the basketball will take care of you. On Thursday night in Phoenix, the Charlotte Hornets did almost everything else right, and it still was not enough.

Devin Booker scored 30 points, buried a long 3-pointer in the final half-minute and then came up with a steal to seal it as the Phoenix Suns held off the Hornets, 101-96, according to Field Level Media ^[1]. Charlotte outrebounded Phoenix 51-31 but turned the ball over 25 times, and the Suns converted those giveaways into 38 points ^[1].

The win lifted Phoenix to 5-6, based on the 4-6 record the Suns carried into the night, and dropped Charlotte to 4-8 ^[3][4]. Field Level Media reported the Suns have now won four of their last five and are 4-2 on a seven-game homestand, while the Hornets have lost seven of eight ^[1].

A Big Lead Slips Away

Phoenix looked to be in full control early. The Suns closed the first quarter on an 18-7 run to lead 28-22, with Booker scoring 13 points and hitting three 3-pointers in the period alone ^[1]. The lead grew to 48-31 in the second quarter ^[1].

Then Charlotte found life off its bench. Grant Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, one of them part of a four-point play, and the Hornets trimmed the gap to 50-45 with 3:12 left before halftime ^[1]. NBC Sports' player notes described the night as Williams' season debut after a hamstring strain; he finished with 11 points in 16 minutes ^[2].

Phoenix led 55-50 at the break, but the Hornets kept coming. Field Level Media reported Charlotte put together a 33-11 run spanning the second and third quarters and moved in front, 76-72 ^[1].

Booker Closes the Door

The fourth quarter belonged to the home team. The Suns opened the period on a 20-10 run, and Dillon Brooks' 3-pointer with 3:40 left made it 92-86 ^[1].

Charlotte would not go quietly. After Booker's deep 3-pointer with 23.8 seconds left put Phoenix up 97-91, Royce O'Neale answered with a 3-pointer and a free throw with 21.2 seconds to go, cutting the deficit to 97-95 ^[1]. Miles Bridges, playing Charlotte for the first time since the Hornets traded him to Phoenix last summer, made two free throws to push the lead back to four ^[1]. Booker then picked off a pass and made two more free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining to put it away ^[1].

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Booker shot 12-of-20 from the floor and added seven assists, three steals and a block, according to NBC Sports, which noted it was his fifth 30-point game of the season ^[2]. Brooks scored 15 points with three 3-pointers, Collin Gillespie added 13 off the bench, Jalen Green had 12, and Bridges finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists ^[1].

It was not a pretty win. Phoenix made just 13 of its 43 attempts from beyond the arc, two nights after hitting a season-high 22 of 43 in a win over the Clippers ^[1]. But when the game was on the line, the Suns' best player made the plays that decided it.

A Short-Handed Charlotte Keeps Fighting

Charlotte played without three key pieces. Brandon Miller (hip), Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Dennis Schroder (hamstring) all sat out, according to Field Level Media ^[1]. Miller came into the night as the team's leading scorer at 20.6 points per game, according to Yahoo Sports ^[4].

Coby White carried the load with a season-high 21 points ^[1]. Naz Reid added 16 points and seven rebounds, and Moussa Diabate grabbed 13 rebounds ^[1]. Grayson Allen, the former Sun who came to Charlotte in the deal that sent Bridges west, scored 14 points with four 3-pointers in his third straight start in place of Miller ^[1].

The effort was real. Charlotte climbed out of a 17-point hole on the road and won the battle of the boards by 20. But no team can hand an opponent 25 extra chances and expect to walk away with a win, and that is the lesson the Hornets will have to carry with them.

What Comes Next

Phoenix turns around to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Nov. 15, and Charlotte's next game is against the Clippers the same day, according to Yahoo Sports' schedule ^[4].

For a young Hornets team, Thursday showed the fight is there even without its best players. Cleaning up the turnovers is the next step, and that kind of fix comes from discipline and repetition, not luck. For the Suns, a win built on a closer's poise in the final minute is the kind that can steady a season.