The Phoenix Suns suffered another heartbreaking loss on Monday night, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies by one despite holding a seven-point lead lead after an Isaiah Thomas three-pointer with 1:49 left. Jeff Green delivered the dagger to the Suns, corralling an offensive rebound and putting the Grizzlies ahead with an and-1 with 4.5 seconds left. Marc Gasol then sealed the game with a block of Markieff Morris at the buzzer.
The heartbreaking losses that may keep the Suns out of the playoffs
If the Phoenix Suns miss the playoffs, blame a series of crushing defeats at the buzzer.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
It was an especially bad night for Phoenix because both the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder won. The Suns currently hold the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but the Pelicans moved to just a game back by ending the Atlanta Hawks' 19-game winning streak. The Thunder are still three games back overall of the Suns and two back in the loss column after a win over the Orlando Magic, but Oklahoma City has a home heavy slate the rest of the way. The Thunder and Pelicans play a critical home-and-home set this week.
Now’s the time to remind folks that the Suns have lost several heartbreakers this season that could prove costly in the playoff race. Phoenix is 2-8 in games decided by three points or less and 0-4 in games that have gone to overtime this season. There have also been four other losses by either four or five points. In three of those four losses, the Suns held a lead in the fourth quarter.
Three of Phoenix’s losses have come at the buzzer. Those three defeats occurred in the span of just 23 games, and two of them were on improbable shots that would have resulted in Suns victories if missed.
First, there was a Blake Griffin step-back that got the friendliest of bounces:
Then, Khris Middleton hit a running three from the top of the key that banked in off the backboard:
Finally, James Harden delivered a more traditional buzzer-beater with a step-back jumper over Thomas:
After the Harden game-winner, Bright Side Of The Sun did some research to find out the rarity of losing on so many buzzer-beaters:
Let’s put this into perspective, thanks to the research skills of our own Jim Coughenour. In the entire NBA season, there have only been 13 such buzzer beating winners. That’s out of 651 total losses (i.e. games) this NBA season. Or a 1 in 50 chance, across the board.
If you take the Suns’ three out of the mix, the average NBA team has only a 1 in 65 chance to lose on a buzzer beater this season. Since no one’s even come close to playing 65 games yet, there’s a really good chance your favorite team not named the Suns has NOT had to lose on a buzzer beater.
The Suns, by comparison, have three buzzer-beater losses in the last 23 games alone. Or, a 1 in 8 chance.
There hasn’t been a buzzer-beater since the Harden one, so the Suns are still the victims of three out of the 13 buzzer-beaters on the season.
While the loss to the Grizzlies wasn't in buzzer-beating fashion, it was yet another close defeat. The Suns also lost to the Kings in overtime after DeMarcus Cousins fouled out and suffered double OT defeats to the Thunder and Grizzlies at different points. If those seven games end differently, the playoff race dramatically changes.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans and Thunder don’t have a single loss at the buzzer this season. New Orleans is 0-2 in overtime games, but 4-2 in games decided by three points or less. Oklahoma City is 2-2 in overtime games and 4-4 in games with a final margin of three points or less.
Strangely, the Suns have generally performed well efficiency-wise in “clutch” situations this year (last five minutes of fourth quarter and overtime with scoring margin of five points or less), per NBA.com. But Phoenix hasn’t been able to make the key plays to close out games on far too many occasions.
If that eighth seed is lost, look no further than the bevy of crushing defeats.
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