Suns’ Bradley Beal thanks team for ‘gassing him up’ in wild finish

Unfortunately for Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns, their superstar’s 33-point night against a team tied for sixth in the West, the New Orleans Pelicans, was not enough to make a difference. The Suns lost 113-105 at Footprint Center Monday.

Beal, who is in his first season with the Suns, spoke about his season-high in a Suns home game.

“A lot of it was just being in the flow and being in a rhythm,” Beal said. “Honestly, a lot of teammates were gassing me on the sidelines too. They just encourage me to keep going and be aggressive.”

One of those teammates was Beal’s former peer with the Wizards, Isaiah Thomas, who officially signed with the Suns for the rest of the 2024 season on Tuesday.

“‘Be you,'” Thomas said he tells Beal in-game. ‘Be aggressive.’

“A lot of times, he’s kind of second-guessing himself. He wants to get guys involved, and not seem so selfish. I think the Brad we seen last game, we need a little bit more of that. Not saying 30 points every night, but just getting in the paint, making plays, being super aggressive, looking to score most importantly. Because I think when you have that aggression, it opens up passing lanes and it opens up areas for other people.”

“It definitely kind of put me in a different mindset too. Obviously, if you see one go in or two or three, it entices you to shoot more. I was fortunate that I was able to line them up and knock some down. It was a good run. It was a good stretch. We cut the lead down to two. It was good basketball. We just had to sustain that, and I wish we could have come out of the other side of it.”

Beal himself sparked a 10-0 run for the Suns, who took a 96-95 lead in the fourth quarter following Beal’s corner three on an assist from Jusuf Nurkic. Phoenix did not lead the rest of the game.

Beal is someone who is looking to help the Suns meet championship expectations. He was traded to Phoenix in June for aging point guard Chris Paul, guard Landry Shamet and five second-round picks.

“It’s crazy, when I met with these guys, it’s the first thing James said, like, ‘OK, when we played you, we pretty much doubled you when we had the ball,'” Beal said. “But, with you with us, who are you going to double team? What are your rotations going to look like?’ 

“So like, just that two seconds, I was like, ‘Damn, that makes a lot of sense.’” 

Without Beal, the Suns would not have a point guard. Beal is putting pressure on the rim and making things easier for Devin Booker, who was nominated for West Player of the Week. The ninth-year guard is averaging 32.5 points while shooting 54.3 percent in four April games.

Beal, Booker and the Suns return to the floor Tuesday to take on the LA Clippers.