5 takeaways from Suns' franchise-setting 18th consecutive win in holding off Pistons without injured Devin Booker

No Devin Booker.

No problem making history.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns set a franchise record for consecutive victories in beating Detroit, 114-103, Thursday night before 16,081 fans at Footprint Center.

Winning an unbelievable 18th game in a row, Phoenix (19-3) took down the Pistons (4-18) minus the All-Star Booker, who missed his first game of the season after straining his left hamstring in the first half of Tuesday's showdown win over Golden State.

Landry Shamet started in place of Booker and finished with 14 points as his fourth and final 3 gave Phoenix a 10-point lead with 1:57 left in the game.

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NBA: SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | STATISTICS

Here are five takeaways from Phoenix's historical 18th consecutive victory.

1. Let's first take a look at the final scores of the historic win streak.

1. Oct 30: W, 101-92 vs. Cavaliers.

2. Nov. 2: W, 112-100 vs. Pelicans.

3. Nov. 4: W, 123-111 vs. Rockets.

4. Nov. 6: W, 121-117 vs. Hawks.

5. Nov. 8: W,109-104 at Kings.

6. Nov. 10: W, 119-109 vs. Blazers.

7. Nov. 12: W, 119-94 at Grizzlies

8. Nov. 14: W, 115-89 at Rockets.

9. Nov. 15: W, 99-96 at Timberwolves.

10. Nov. 17: W, 105-98 vs. Mavericks.

11. Nov. 19: W, 112-104 vs. Mavericks.

12. Nov. 21: W, 126-97 vs. Nuggets.

13. Nov. 22: W, 115-111 at Spurs.

14. Nov. 24 W, 120-115 at Cavs.

15. Nov. 26: W, 118-97 at Knicks.

16. Nov. 27: W, 113-107 at Nets.

17. Nov. 30: W, 104-96 vs. Warriors.

18. Dec. 2: W, 114-103 vs. Pistons.

Sacramento could've stopped the streak.

Minnesota had the Suns shaking.

San Antonio and Cleveland gave them a scare, but the Suns also had impressive victories, particularly on the road.

Memphis. New York. Brooklyn.

Not having reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (wrist) or Michael Porter Jr. (back) takes some steam out of Phoenix's trashing of the Nuggets at home.

Then there's the Golden State win.

That tops them all.

No Booker in the second half and they still came out on top in tying the franchise record by beating the team that had the NBA's best record going into the game.

The 18th win wasn't nearly as impressive.

2. The Suns got big play from their bench as Cameron Payne and Cam Johnson each scored 19 points.

They had seven players score at least 10 points as Bridges went for 18, Deandre Ayton added 17 and 12 rebounds and Chris Paul chipped in 12 points and 12 assists.

However, Detroit went on a 17-0 run capped by Cade Cunningham's 3 to pull within one, 80-79, late in the third.

Then Hamidou Diallo tied it at 82-82 on a 3, but the basket didn't count as it was later ruled to have dropped after the shot clock expired.

The Suns ended up closing the quarter on a 7-2 spurt to go up 87-81 going into the fourth, but the inexperience of the Pistons and replay, played a big part in that separation.

A letdown was expected at some point after an emotional win over the Warriors, but it was also expected they'd find a way to win the game even after yielding a 17-0 run to Detroit.

3. Monty Williams played when they had 3-plus hour practices back in the 1990s.

So while he's conscious of players needing rest, Williams also says his team isn't "digging ditches" as the practices are 30 to 45 minutes.

However, seeing Mikal Bridges play 41 minutes for a second straight game, even with a day off in between, that's something Williams admits is something he must examine.

Bridges hasn't missed a game his entire NBA career.

He's been durable, tough and plays with energy and effort, but curious to see if this trend continues with Booker being out starting tomorrow at Golden State in the second of a back-to-back.

4. Dwane Casey said Josh Jackson isn't "in the doghouse" and would get opportunities starting Thursday night.

Then the former Suns wing watched the entire game from the bench.

This was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Kansas who failed to play one second Thursday night on a team that's won just four games.

Huh?

So here's another question.

How would Jackson have looked playing for Williams as Jackson was traded a little more than a month into Williams being head coach.

At his best, Jackson is an explosive athlete who can get after it defensively and competes. Williams has repeatedly proven he can get players to play at their best.

Kelly Oubre Jr. Cameron Payne. Deandre Ayton. Mikal Bridges. Cam Johnson.

And more.

The move definitely worked out for the Suns as they got Jevon Carter, who helped establish their team culture, in the trade but seeing Jackson on the bench makes one wonder what if Williams had coached him even for just one season.

5. With four rotational players out — Frank Kaminsky (knee), Dario Saric (knee), Abdel Nader (knee) and Booker — Ish Wainright got an opportunity to play in the first quarter.

The two-way player didn't score, only logged four minutes, but had a nice transition assist to Johnson for a dunk and played with much energy. He's a physical wing who gets after it and received high praise from Paul and Johnson after the game.

The flipside of that is Jalen Smith, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft, didn't play.

Clearly the undrafted Wainright has earned his way on the court, but Smith finds himself on the outskirts of opportunity.

The Suns didn't pick up his third-year option, which makes him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. So a message has been sent about his future in Phoenix, but this is still a season he can show he's worth a team investing in him.

Not playing on a team that's missing two bigs and a two-way player seeing action isn't a good look for Smith at all.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Suns' franchise-setting 18th consecutive win in holding off Pistons